MEMOIR LOGO CONCEPT: The aleph and a Sufi mystic inspired my creation and design of the syzygy logo, which I initially based on the symbolism of the yin and yang.
But the concept expanded when I first saw the aleph in Judith Cornell’s
Mandala Healing Kit, My inexplicable attraction to it led me to incorporate it into my logo before I knew what it meant.
I later read that the “Aleph (the first letter of the sacred Hebrew alphabet) embodies the primordial, divine potential of the universe. ... Aleph contains all the universe’s potential and all of its emptiness simultaneously. Aleph represents a dynamic process of movement from unity to diversity and back to unity,” Jennifer Judelsohn, Songs of Creation.
And the mystic poet Rumi inspired me to use the fire and water concept after I read The Question. Here is an excerpt:
“The presence is there in front of me. A fire on the left, a lovely stream on the right.
One group walks toward the fire, into the fire. Another toward the sweet flowing water.
No one knows which are blessed and which are not.
Whoever walks into the fire appears suddenly in the stream.
A head goes under water, and that head pokes out of the fire.”
LOGO ART: Cropped fire and water images from Free Images.
LOTUS LOGO: In spiritual and religious literature, “the lotus is a symbol for the macrocosm and the microcosm, the universe and man. The lotus represents the divinity of the cosmos as well as the divinity of man.
The lotus is the center of the infinite, omnipresent consciousness which connects with the consciousness of the universe. Through the intuition, one of man’s divine gifts, the spiritual student can see the infinite, omnipresent consciousness as the lotus flower within himself.”
LOTUS ART: Courtesy
Homestead, my website service provider. (Temporary art while I design of my own lotus logo.)
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Help Set the Table with a Feed America campaign to help provide meals to families, children, and seniors facing hunger.
I declare, Pastor Joel Osteen and
three red marbles inspired a cleaner, friendlier landscape at no cost
As usual, I asked God to speak to me through Pastor Joel Osteen, so that I may understand God’s particular message for me, whatever that might be for that week or that day. Well it’s been great so far this year—a year promising a “Flood of Favor”—until Joel’s message that week.
I was praying for help, for guidance. But instead of guiding me or helping me concerning my own little pickle, Pastor Joel told several anecdotes about how we should help others. And then he read my mind.
He said I know what you’re thinking: “Well, Joel, I’ve got my own challenges. I’m dealing with this health issue, [or] I’ve got these problems with my finances. I didn’t come all the way out here to hear about being good to people. I want somebody to be good to me.”
“Sweet potato pie,” I thought sheepishly. “And shut my mouth.”
Pastor Joel went on to tell a story, going back about 30 years ago, of a little boy named Barry from a poor family in rural Idaho who stood admiring peas at the local grocer. When asked, the boy told the owner, Mr. Miller, he had no money. Mr. Miller asked him if he had anything he could trade. The boy pulled out his treasured marbles.
“The only thing is, Barry,” said Mr. Miller. “I like red marbles and all you have are blues and greens.” He asked Barry to take a sack of peas home, but to bring one of his red marbles the next time. A local businessman stood by and smiled.
Next time, Barry brought a red marble, but Mr. Miller had second thoughts. He sent Barry off with a sack of potatoes, asking him to bring one of his blues next time. This went on for years.
Twenty-three years later, after Mr. Miller had died, three young men in their 30s stopped by at the viewing to pay their respects, each touching Mr. Miller’s hand, bringing tears to Mrs. Miller’s eyes.
Later, the businessman came in, and he told Mrs. Miller that he had seen first-hand how generous her husband, Jim, had been, giving food to a boy for just a look at his marbles.
Pastor Joel said Mrs. Miller smiled, and said, “Jim did that for three young men, always saying it wasn’t the right color marble. But now Jim doesn’t have a choice about the color or the size of the marble.” She turned her husband’s lifeless hand and in it were three shiny red marbles.
Choked up, I tried to think what I could do to help another. I hadn’t worked in over three months. I was broke. How could I be a blessing to anyone? It occurred to me that I had been procrastinating about picking up the litter that I saw on my walk each day. Well this was that day. On my way out, I
A 30-minute walk filled this bag with litter—at no cost to anyone—yet it benefits all of us, from a more pleasant view to healing the planet from the harmful effects of pollution: One small step for a woman, one giant leap for humankind.
grabbed a plastic bag. I would do my good deed for the day.
As I turned off the main road, to my right was a parking lot, where I had seen these cotton-tips that had been bugging me for two weeks. I stepped off the curb and picked them up, and when I turned around I saw another thicket of litter in the other corner of the curb, which I couldn’t see from the sidewalk. As I sifted through the debris there I found three shiny red beads.
“Oh, my, God! You are too funny!” I scooped up the red beads and dropped them in my pocket. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
A half a mile up the road, an elderly gentleman, who looked just like my Dad, stopped me. He had picked up a dirty paper towel to add to my litter bag. He said it had been bugging him. Of course, I thanked him for his contribution. Another half a mile up the road, a man in a work vehicle pulled up alongside me and chatted for a few minutes. As he drove off, he thanked me?! My biggest surprise was that I could make such a difference with so little. ♂ ♀
Donating clothing, household items, games, etc., is a great way to help struggling families. The military drop box to the left is walking distance for me and will soon be chuck full of all the clothing I did not wear this past year.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention month, but children need protection year-round. Prevent Child Abuse America has led the effort for the last several years to nationalize the blue pinwheel as a symbol for the need to protect America’s children from abuse and neglect.
God cracks me up in the most unexpected ways. As I reached into this pile of muck to sift out the litter, I found three little red beads. See Pastor Joel’s full message, titled “Be Good to People,” to see what I mean.
© 1955–2015 Syzygy: Crossing the Bridge to Self. All Rights Reserved.
“The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.”
Swedish proverb
Plant a symbol to raise awareness of child abuse
