Why The Zoo Fence? One night in 1974, in a fishing camp on the windward side of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands, we had a dream about publishing a journal called The Zoo Fence. The name probably originated from the practice of the Honolulu Zoo to allow artists to display their artwork on the zoo fence along Monsarrat Avenue in Waikiki. But beyond that, who knows what the subconscious meant by the phrase! In any case, it made sense in the dream, and when, more than two decades later, The Laughing Cat decided to issue a newsletter which evolved into this website, the choice of a name seemed already to have been made.
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Jalalludin Rumi
One day in Eden, Adam sees Eve for the first
time.
“I am Adam,” he says to her.
“Yes, I know,” Eve replies, “so am
I.”
In The Beginning Chapter 4
My spiritual practice …
The Lord is my Shepherd,
I shall not whine.©
Psalm 23 & TZF
This I command you, love one another.
John 13:34 and others
(Please notice: it’s not suggest, recommend, urge. It’s command.)
God is Love is the nature of the universe in which we live. It is our nature, every single one of us. God is Love is the frequency of life. God is Love is an aspect, a determining factor of everything we do, every breath we take, every bite we swallow, every word we speak. Just so, the L in the word Love is capitalized. This is not the love of “I love peanut butter” or even the love of “I love my job,” although yes, that is part of it because with a capital L, Love includes all there is, ever was, every will be.
God is Love is cosmic. God is Love is God’s favorite nickname. Think of God is Love not as a phrase but as a single word describing a context, a circumstance, an atmosphere. A word for what we are, where we are, why we are. As you may have noticed elsewhere on TZF, I like the phrase what is. It‘s simple but infinitely inclusive. God is Love is What is.
Or try this: Imagine a book on a library shelf, an infinite biography of your life that includes every word, every event, every thought, every vein, every muscle, every cell, every whoever and whatever and wherever, since your birth and onward, in all directions past, present, future, and beyond time, and the book’s title is God is Love — The Life of (your name). And that’s just a hint of it. …
… While we are on this subject together, please consider this. From what I have observed and experienced, for a beginning seeker acting on this stuff outwardly, publicly, too soon risks empowering the ego — the “I-thought” — and feeding the traits of self-centeredness within us: envy, resentment, pride, self-importance or, in a word, avoiding relationship. While our spiritual consideration is an idea, a goal, but not yet an accomplishent, a perceived reality, patience is urged. So, yes, we must be willing to ingest it — even with enthusiasm, but at the same time, initially we need to allow ourselves time and quiet to digest it. Walk, don’t run. In the beginning, the ego will be confused and threatened by our taking God seriously. The ego’s reaction will be “Who’s this god person? I thought that was my area!” It will try to interfere by reminding us, each of us, of its self-perceived importance. It needs to be taught, it wants to be taught, guided into its true form and purpose. It has just developed bad habits. And we must undo that, repair it, you and I, each of us. Like a parent. Firm, but kind. Raising ourselves, our ego, from childhood to adulthood. Anger and hatred are not teaching devices. Genuine considerate commitment is wanted. Each of us — you and I — must frequently remind ourselves of God’s Presence in the process, by our side and on our side … until we may not fully know it, but at least we no longer doubt it. Call on God. She will help. This is Her Area. If we promise Her that we are undertaking this with love, we will eventually observe the ego’s inherent generosity blossom, and what a difference that will make! A healthy ego is a dependable servant.
A simple practice
(easy to perform, easy to forget)
Be present, consciously aware —
… walking through a door
… when a telephone rings
… speaking the word “I”
… or choose some other
Be present how? Try this:
Whisper to yourself a few words,
your own mantra, like “Here I Am”
Don’t let it become spooky.
God will hear, but say it to yourself.
“Living Pesence” & TZF
This is not stuff we learn and then know.
This is stuff we ingest and become.
Love and compassion are like seeds.
When you plant them in your heart, they grow and spread,
touching the lives of everyone around you.
Neem Karoli Baba
How is it that there is God,
but there is not a God.
In the beginning, we create, and then throughout our lives we sustain, our sense of self by perceiving ourselves as separate and apart from others. That is, we create the appearance of a separate self, which each of us calls “me” and “my life,” by establishing artificial personal boundaries beyond which everything else is perceived as “not me.” This process of personal identification, which we might call the human condition, is a product of the “I-Thought,” the ego, also known as the mind, by which we define ourselves for ourselves by the statements, ”I am me, not you. I am this and not that.” The first cousin of the I-Thought is the my-thought, which informs us “This is mine, not yours.”
As I understand it, the mind is not a thing. It is the ego, which is an accumulation of stuff — ideas, thoughts, memories, preferences, biases, dispositions, intentions — that manifest or embody or appear (word?) physically as Stefan and, in your case, as your name, and generate or awaken our sense that I am me, and will continue to manifest as me and as you in or as other bodies in other times and other circumstances (reincarnation?) — until Self Realization. It is Self Realization that, as I suggest here, erases or eliminates or transcends the mind (and the ego). And absent the mind, I (you) Recognize (Remember?) Who and What and Where I AM In Truth … and have always been, however unaware. Mind you, that I AM is not Stefan; it is the absence of Stefan. It is the I AM of Exodus.
Last Supper ·