The theme of this workshop is "The Great Mother" or in its expanded title "The Great Mother Slimemold."

Today's workshop is an excellent example in point of how a slimemold can function. Before explaining that juicy comment I'd like to give a little background.

Slimemolds, even the ordinary biological kind, are wondrous creatures. In the world of science the word "slimemold" refers to a variety of different creatures falling under the same catch phrase category -- "slimemold". The kind of slimemold we are talking about is of a very particular sort. This sort of slimemold has a functioning multifaceted body composed of many cells. Each cell contributes to the whole while maintaining an individuality. This individuality is not just any ol' individuality. The individual cell is not free to define the nature of the blended interaction -- that is left to the whole.

In our attempt to work as part of a blended whole -- a higher form -- some characteristics that we now consider to be part of our unique nature can be found to interfere with our blending as part of the whole. If we have a wish to be more than we are,.... if we have a wish to function within a whole that has a higher destiny,.... we come to a point in which we will be asked by circumstance to give up, or purge ourselves, of characteristics that interfere.

These characteristics are neither good, nor bad. They can be considered by others to be flaws or assets. Doesn't matter. In the final analysis the question is a simple one, "Does a characteristic interfere with one's blended participation with the whole?" If it does, then it must go -- if one is to blend. 

All too often we mistakenly identify with a characteristic of our individuality as being our individuality. With this confusion any request to give up a characteristic is interpreted as a request to give up one's individuality. That's a laugh. When was the last time you actually found a way of not being an individuum? How long did it last?

Being stuck with an individuality does not mean you have be an idiot about it. If you are willing to do a little reconstruction of your body of habits you can find yourself in the wondrous situation of being a part of something larger. Sharing in a destiny and working under laws that come from higher. 

I believe it is possible to know if one is operating in slimemoldish way. To know whether one is blending and participating with a larger group. To know the mood of being "on beam." This is possible. To know what job one has relative to the higher I'm not so sure is possible.

Consider the situation of a heart. If one stretches the notion of slimemold just a little the heart is viewable as a slimemold. Composed of many individual cells participating in a larger formation. Does a cell participating in the larger body of cells collectively known as a "heart" know what its function is?  Can that cell know what the function of a "heart" is? Most likely the heart cell in question knows mostly about its own rhythmic contraction and relaxation.  It may or may not be aware of the contraction and relaxation of its neighbors. For all we know this heart cell considers itself to be part of a dance company, putting on 50 shows a minute and 3000 shows an hour. Talk about a long running Broadway hit.

It's a long shot to expect that the heart cell would know of valves and pumps, aortas, veins and arteries.  It is not such a long stretch to suppose that this heart cell can have some knowledge about its position in the whole with respect to blended versus not-blended. The biology of tissue cell reject is right down there on the cellular level.  It does not escape the experience of a single cell that a cyst is forming around it and that it is being pushed out of the whole like a boil.

You can participate in a bucket brigade without knowing the destiny of each bucket or the purpose of the brigade.  You can not participate in a bucket brigade without some idea of how well you are getting along with the bucket passer to one side and the bucket receiver to the other. To be a good bucket passer does not mean giving up your individuality. It does mean being willing to follow the rhythm of the whole, being willing to work to the cadence of the higher formation.

If you can step back, figuratively speaking, and take a wider perspective of these monthly workshops you can see many different people with varying typicalities leading an array of seeming diverse workshops.

On closer examination one can detect a profound connectedness among the workshops -- a prevalent theme that runs through the day. One might be tempted to suppose we get together and plan that. Unless of course you know us better. If you know us as all, the only explanation of this underlying theme is that each workshop giver is doing his or her contracting and relaxing -- or bucket passing. And that somehow the higher form is handling the rest of it.

Throughout the day you will be experiencing many different exercises and experiments.  If you can hold a thread of consciousness across the day, you will find each of these exercises shedding light on a different facet of a whole called "The Great Mother" No one of us could hope to give you a full picture of "The Great Mother." No more than a single heart cell could hope to describe the cardiovascular system. But we can each give our part. If you are lucky you may experience a bit of what its like to work as a larger formation.

Do you have anything you would like to ask or say before I turn this over to Robbert.

mmm: what is an example of a character trait to remove?

That would depend on the individual. Real simple. If it gets in the way. It gets in the way.

There are some things that seem to be fairly universally not a good idea. But by and large the things that for you will be a challenge to give up will be something small that for another would be nothing but for you spells the difference between blending and non-blending.

Rather than putting attention on what gets in the way it might be better to put attention on the effort (or efforts) to work together on what is at hand. At least maybe it won't be so discouraging as making a list of one's blemishes. Might be endless and I guarantee that the item you really need to look at won't make it on the list no matter how big you make the list because it will be invisible to you.

However when you come to care about something about contributing to the work you will be able to have the degree of your mis-fit become visible to you. You can sit pained at the full vision of how your non-blending is getting in the way and still have no clue what the thing is that is getting in the way.

At this point one can keep on keeping on.

That is why I say "put your attention on working and let the other come out in the wash." For the moment don't even worry about what the thing you are working on is. You have many wonderful activities scheduled for you today. If you can just bring your attention into the present and make the efforts necessary to contribute to the whole of whatever activity is happening, you will be doing quant-suff, quantity - sufficient.

Okay?

I think given the nature of "The Great Mother" a little attention on the blendedness of how you are within a larger body will take you a long way.

Shall we get started with one of these upcoming "great" workshops?