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August 16, 2015

Alzheimer's-An Altered State of Mind

By Burl Hall

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Green nature:  The Path Into Ourselves is Through Knowing Our True Nature
Green nature: The Path Into Ourselves is Through Knowing Our True Nature
(Image by pixelshoot (mostly off, vacation))
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This article is mainly written by Merry Hall

This critical evolutionary moment in human history calls out to us to heal the wounded nature of humanity. Disasters are looming on all fronts: economics, ecology, ethics, weather, politics, and warfare. We must evolve beyond the fear, scarcity, separation and competition-based thinking that has increased its grip on us over the past five centuries. (Burl says more than 5 centuries, the date to this fall goes back to the times before the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, which places it to the time of the writing of Genesis 1 of the Bible). We must co-create the love, abundance, belonging and cooperation-based thinking that resilient living as an integral part of the Earth's Nature demands.

For Burl and Merry Hall, personally answering this call means WRITING. Keep writing as long as you believe the Spirit of Universal Wisdom (whom we call Sophia) keeps inspiring you. Cry out the good news that conscious human evolution is a possible and practical response to the many converging threats to human life on earth. KEEP WRITING even when "nobody" seems to be listening, certainly not the powers-that-be. GO ON WRITING even when it isn't "paying" our own basic bills or bolstering our egos.

Burl continues to write prolifically with Merry's support despite entering the intermediate stages of Alzheimer's. We are convinced that continuing to write and publish is creating new connections in his brain that offset some of the losses brought on by the disease progression. Indeed, it appears that as his conditioned brain loses memory, linear logic, and control, his access to the collective consciousness of humanity and the Wisdom of Sophia opens more widely. Sharing wisdom with humanity as Sophia shares it with him is Burl's sustaining vision, passion, and mission. One of Merry's main roles as his caregiver is to support this work as long as possible.

The process of co-authoring strengthens Burl's initial independent manuscripts. Much shared discussion, experience, inspiration, and learning enriches the text. The loving interaction of our masculine and feminine perspectives shines throughout our co-authored writings. Into the creative space between us, Sophia herself has been able to enter in more embodied, down-to-earth form. (The biblical scripture, "Where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I also" comes to mind here.)

Similarly, the process of co-hosting "Envision This!"--our online radio show--keeps us sharp, engaged, and enthusiastic about the many and varied visionary ideas in circulation around the planet in this age of virtual communication. We credit writing and broadcasting with the blessedly slow progress of Alzheimer's ravages for Burl and aging's ravages for Merry. Yes, we are dying, but we are living our deaths. As we give; so we receive. (That is, after all, the way things are "s'posed to be.")

Co-authoring and co-hosting become generative in the same way as co-parenting does. It is another way of making love! Our writings and broadcasts become our children. We cannot direct their lives and fortunes, but we certainly can dedicate the best of ourselves to them. They enliven our spirits even as our bodies fail.

Is there a way to compensate for all that is being destroyed, all that is being lost? Finding an affirmative answer to this question both in the world and in our individual lives is possible when we surrender our egos to the infinite, eternal I-AM of Life itself. Letting go of the limiting cultural memes that keep our hearts and our hands enslaved to all that has been force-fed into our heads frees us to access the universal Mind. Our inner eyes are opening to beauty and abundance.

We can, therefore, choose to view dementia as a potential gift, an altered (expanded?) state of mind. Far-fetched as it sounds, even to us, that is so far turning out to be our experience. The world's visionaries and mystics are coming to accept destruction as an essential phase of on-going creation, death as an essential process within the universal life-force, surrender as a prelude to victory, cooperation as a cure for competition, and love as transcendent over fear. Perhaps, dementia is Burl's way of letting go of the culture-conditioned brain in order to reach out to Mind of the Universe of which we are a manifestation. Perhaps staying in loving communication with him, on the one hand, and the world, on the other, is Merry's service to conscious evolution.

We are placing our faith there. That is our sacrifice, our service to each other and to you. That is what keeps us writing no matter what comes crashing down around and within us.



Authors Bio:
Burl Hall is a retired counselor who is living in a Senior Citizen Housing apartment. Burl has one book to his credit, titled "Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature." For more information, search the book on Amazon.

Burl's philosophy entails the idea that "everything effects and causes everything thing else." His spirituality of Sophia i.e., Wisdom is universal as well as within each of us. He also sees the idea of Chaos as not being "all over the place" but as infinite relationships.

The question I present in my articles speak not so much towards the politicians, but how WE the people can empower ourselves within a planet that is healthy, wealthy and wise.

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