Gaia Community: Jordan's Blog

Hear me interviewed on Rebounding by Dr. Carol Robin

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:41:41 GMT

Well, you can hear this for free until Thursday morning at:

http://www.guidedcds.com/seminarinfo

It was a lot of fun to be the person being interviewed, rather than the interviewer.

We speak about "what works," rebounding, enlightenment, and more.

blessings,

Jordan

Tags: rebounding, chibounding, Jordan Gruber

Post-Seder Sufi Dancing Led By My Uncle

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:50:21 GMT

This was *so much fun*. My uncle is a Sufi, and he led us in Dances of Universal Peace after the Seder.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=82638302493&ref=mf

Tags:

Just Bouncin' -- The beginning of an ordinary daily workout

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:36:02 GMT

just bouncin'

Tags: chibounding, rebounding, bouncing, mini-trampoline

Enlightenment.Com State of the Site newsletter, in video or words

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:06:15 GMT

Below please find the video (also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6iK-XgisfA) and the words from Enlightenment.Com's Happy New Year and 2008 Wrap-Up State of the Site message. This newsletter anounces a new in-depth audio interview, progress on our "Atom of Enlightenment" initiative, and includes a Healing of Grief Musical Reflection starrting Jem.

Note that from the front page of http://Enlightenment.Com, you can Chip-In $5 or $10 or $100 to help support our efforts.

The State of the Site: Enlightenment.Com's 2008 Wrap-Up

Enlightenment-Com archives
Enlightenment.Com Newsletter: Happy 2009! & State of the Site

Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:44:52 -0800 (PST)
From: jordan@enlightenment.com
Subject: Enlightenment.Com Newsletter: Happy 2009! & State of the Site
Enlightenment.Com Newsletter – 2008 Wrap-Up, Happy 2009!

[Note: This all-text newsletter was sent to the Enlightenment.Com
list today, December 31, 2008. If you'd like to sign up to receive
future newsletters, please send a blank message to
Enlightenment-Com-on@mail-list.com. To unsubscribe,
please see the end of this newsletter.]

     CONTENTS of this Newsletter:

    1. Welcome!
    2. The State of the Site: In Video or Words
        [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6iK-XgisfA]
    3. An In-depth Audio Interview with Bonnie Gintis, Osteopath
[http://www.enlightenment.com/media/audiointerviews/Bonnie_Gintis.mp3]
    4. What's Great About '08: An Awareness by Jordan Gruber
    5. A Gem of a Jem of a Healing Journey: A Personal Musical Reflection
    6. Chip-In to support us, if you can!
    7. Thanks.

[Note: This newsletter was written by Jordan Gruber, J.D., M.A.,
Enlightenment.Com's Founder and CEO, who takes responsibility
for all errors and omissions found in this newsletter and throughout
Enlightenment.Com. Please email me, mailto:jordan@enlightenment.com,
if you have any questions or concerns.]

---------------------------

1. Welcome

Welcome back to our new, simplified, plain text newsletter. I've been
writing online newsletters for Enlightenment.Com on and off since
early 1996, which means I've now been at this for over a dozen years.
And honestly, I love it.

That is, I love getting to write for you (I love writing for a caring
audience), I love the fact that (from all reports) a decent number of you
still spend time with at least some of the newsletter's more in-depth
pieces, and most of all, I love that the act of putting together a newsletter
always seems to call upon me to gather up, reflect upon, digest, and then
transmit some of what I've experienced and learned since
the last newsletter.

So while writing a newsletter for you is always a bit of a personal
undertaking for me, this issue in particular will be more personal
and more challenging than most, mainly because these times
have been harder than most.

Financially, of course, notwithstanding our Enlightenment-focused
practices, many of us are under great stress right now, and that certainly
applies to me personally. (My biggest client was acquired and no longer
needs me, so if you happen to know somebody who needs a
*great ghostwriter* who can write on anything from law to technology
to financial services to personal growth to spirituality, then
please let me know, or take a look at http://practicalwordsmith.com,
and then let me know.)

And, like many of you, I've had other personal losses in the last year,
including the death of a wonderful, brilliant, beautiful friend in
her mid-40's, and then the disappearance of my most favorite cat. I
lost my dad and wrote about that here some two years ago, but having
my deeply bonded pet disappear off the face of the earth with
absolutely no explanation—well, that rocked my world. I mean, this
cat walked up my body and purred me into bliss literally thousands
of times in the past 7.5 years, so it's not surprising that we were
deeply bonded.

So, you can expect a couple of pretty personal pieces in here, including
a kind of annotated walk-through of the YouTube space for
the Welsh recording artist Jem. Jem's music, synchronistically
magically, and ultimately delightfully, helped me to get through my
pet's loss, and is still helping me heal. This piece is an attempt to
tell that little story, just because it might help somebody else
with some grief at some time.

There will also be an original "awareness" or micro-essay,
"What's Great About '08,"
where I'll share some thoughts about why the great
Financial Crisis of '08 isn't necessarily so bad after all.

There are also a couple of pieces about Enlightenment.Com itself,
including a video (or the words), straight from Mendocino, CA, of
"The State of the Site, January 2009"–address,
just so you long-term fans of our work can stay up-to-date. One thing
I talk about is our new EnlightenRank or "Atom of Enlightenment"
initiative. If you want to go right to it,
it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6iK-XgisfA

There's also a brand new in-depth audio interview with a fabulous
healer, thinker, and person, Bonnie Gintis, Doctor of Osteopathy. If
you want to go right to the interview, it's at
http://enlightenment.com/media/audiointerviews/Bonnie_Gintis.mp3

Lastly, with the economy as it is, rebounder sales have plummeted,
and so once again we'd like to invite any of you who might have a
few spare dollars to support our ongoing work here at once of the
longest-running Enlightenment-oriented websites in existence. So,
if you can afford to Chip In, please go to the front page of
http://www.enlightenment.com and do so.

That's it. Enjoy the newsletter, and feel free to send me feedback.
I read it all.

Blessings from, in, and around Mendocino, Dec. 31, 2009

Jordan Gruber

---------------------------

2. The State of the Site 2008-2009

The State of the Site message is viewable in YouTube video
at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6iK-XgisfA
It's about two minutes and twenty-three seconds long.

Here is the transcription:

Hi, I'm Jordan Gruber, the Founder and CEO of Enlightenment.Com.
This is the annual State of the Site message, and I'm coming to you
from beautiful Mendocino, California; I don't think you are going
to be able to see the waves, but they're out there, right through
these windows. And on behalf of myself and my partners
Jeramy Hale and Gabriel DeWitt, let me wish you a great 2009.

2008 has been a hard year for many of us. So let's have a great 2009.

So, three quick points.

One, we're still here. We're still putting up new content, we're still
putting up interesting audio interviews, and we've got a brand new
initiative that I'm very excited about that I'll tell you about in a
minute, and you know, ultimately, we're excited and delighted
that we continue to have the opportunity to serve you as we have
since 1996.

Second, we could use a little bit of help. Our main means of support
has been rebounder sales, but those have plummeted in the current
financial crisis. So, we've put up a Chip-In icon on the front page.
If you can Chip-In $5 or $10 to help Enlightenment.Com, to show
your appreciation, or because you're excited, then please do so.
We'd greatly appreciate that.

Third, we do have a major new initiative. It's very exciting, and it
comes close to the heart of what Enlightenment.Com has always
been about. It's codenamed the "Atom of Enlightenment"
or the EnlightenRank project, and involves
a way to take different facets or characteristics of psycho-spiritual
websites and present them to you, and get feedback from you,
so that we can really evolve a system of what's most likely to
work for people.

My partner Gabriel DeWitt and I have spent many hours working
through a way of showing what the means, and the goals, of a
website are.

So is the goal more about enlightenment, or is the goal
more about manifestation?

And is the means more about participation, with the people,
on the website, and their events and energy, or is it more
about real-time knowledge that you can take advantage of,
already on the site?

Which is it? How do those work together? It's not as simple as
you think, but we do think we've found a way through it, and
we're very, very excited about sharing it with you.

So, that's it. We're still here;
Chip-In if you can (from http://www.enlightenment.com);
and look for the "Atom of Enlightenment" initiative.
Have a great 2009, and I'll see you soon. Bye-Bye.

---------------------------

3. An In-depth Audio Interview with Bonnie Gintis, Osteopath

A little over a year ago I met with Bonnie Gintis to receive an
osteopathic treatment and to interview her. I thought the book
she had written, *Engaging the Meaning of Life*, was a fabulous
read—check it out at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1556436076 –as
it pulled together much of what I thought and knew about
the body and was completely applicable to rebounding. Through
her writing, Bonnie's mind expanded my mind and my body,
and I quickly knew I wanted to meet her and interview her.

We had a great time, and then I let the interview sit for many
months. Then, earlier this month, I remembered that I told
Bonnie that I'd get to it within a year, so I took it out and
managed to finish the audio editing on the 364th day. So
now, without any further ado, I'd like to invite you to
listen to our conversation at:
http://enlightenment.com/media/audiointerviews/Bonnie_Gintis.mp3

If you give it a couple of minutes, I can promise you that we
have a truly fascinating and stimulating conversation.
If you want to expand the boundaries of your views about the
body, water, energy, medicine, structure, movement, healing,
thought, and more, then please give this interview a listen.

---------------------------

4. What's Great About '08: An Awareness by Jordan Gruber

I know, I know. The sky is falling. Some of it hit me, even.
But still, amidst the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
there always seem to be bright notes, different possibilities,
alternative futures.

So while we sit and weep amidst the Financial Crisis of '08,
or whatever it will eventually officially be called,
we have to keep our eyes open for the bright notes, the bits of
ying in the middle of the yang, the unperturbed flow of
coherent life vectors amongst the chaos.

My friend Harmon Hathaway wrote me as follows, about a
month ago, when the markets had been down more than
they had been down for a very long time. He wrote:

"My World centric view is not completely unhappy with the
contraction happening all around. It will give us all more time for
breathing and being happily alive."

How simple is that? How brilliant is that?

Yes, we are in crisis, rather, crises. But there's always a
bright side, and the bright side here is that we can see where we
are personally and civilizationally out of alignment, and
then make adjustments.

We can see where we're not spending enough time on
what's really important – on our relationships, on
ingesting/digesting/living the truths of our spiritual knowledge,
on taking care of others, ourselves and our planet –
and do more of that. It's pretty simple, actually.

Meditation, for example, is completely free, yet certainly
makes a difference.

And a kind word is certainly without cost, yet it can
change a life. Or many lives.

And putting down the
blackberry/iphone/laptop/ipod/headphones/Bluetooth
while walking on the street or riding a bicycle or
just hanging out at home usually, if anything, saves you money,
yet it can rapidly improve both your inner awareness and
your outer environment. (It's hard to safely maneuver your
body or give a delicious hug when you're mind, and therefore
your body, are somewhere else.)

I learned long ago that if I was receiving serious, ongoing
feedback about something, usually experienced as pain,
then there was almost always something I
needed to pay attention to.

Well, it seems pretty obvious that we,
collectively and individually,
and with some but not that many exceptions,
are precisely responsible for the mess that we,
collectively and individually, find ourselves in.

Will things get better on the outside? Maybe. From
a new President in the U.S. to all sorts of scientific
and other developments, there's a whole lot going on in
the outside word, and it's moving faster than ever.

The real question is: what will you do to be in alignment
with the changes that have been occurring so that things
will get better for you on the inside?

From strengthening your commitment to your practice
to determining that this is the year you take the
necessary risks that only you know of,
the time, once again, is Now. The place, once again, is Here.
And the Point of Power, to quote Seth (yes, Seth), once again,
is Now.

So, before it's too late,
realize what's great
about now-gone '08:

A chance to re-state,
what you need to up-date
to up-grade your fate!

---------------------------

5. A Personal Musical Healing Journey: A Gem of a Jem of an Artist

   Part 1: Background–The Loss of An Exceptional Companion

As I stated in the "Welcome" to this newsletter, this has been a tough
year for me in some ways. I have lost a friend to brain cancer; our
big construction project had some truly unnecessary (and expensive)
delays (but I am thankful to be back in our house); and worst of all,
my very favorite cat, Shadow, an exceptionally friendly, loving,
and handsome 10-year-old Maine Coonish fellow, simpl…
disappeared. (He had a collar and tag, and an ID chip in his shoulder,
but we haven't ever heard anything definite about what happened to
him, and we are, at this point, unlikely to.)

The fact is, when he disappeared, I was beyond crushed. Unwilling
and unable to fight back the tears for weeks, at one point I was on
the verge of calling my doctor for tranquilizers. As one close friend
said, "Really, in many ways it's like losing a child."

Now, many times when someone I know has lost someone, I have
recommended that they buy Peter McWilliams's little
book, *How to Survive the Loss of a Loved One.* At less than
$8 on Amazon.com – see http://www.amazon.com/dp/0931580439 –
this book has proven to be a tremendous resource for those
in need of support.

   Part 2: Right Place, Right Time

But this time around, I needed something else, and I
synchronistically found that something else in the music and lyrics
of the Welsh recording artist Jem Griffiths, usually just known
as "Jem." (Jem: I see in your liner notes to "Down to Earth"
that you have a 'Mendocino Family.' Mendocino! Well, if you're
ever here when I'm here, I'd just love to buy you a cup of coffee
and interview you for Enlightenment.Com.) Jem, who is 34,
has a very eclectic world musical style, and her music has been
used for the movie Sex & the City and elsewhere.

In fact, the very last night I ever saw Shadow was the
very first night that I was introduced by a close friend to
Jem's music. Over the next 6 weeks (until right now, essentially),
not only have I listened to both of Jem's albums, but I have allowed
and encouraged myself to go on a musical healing journey with her.
I'll begin describing that musical journey in a minute,
after I give the "Instructions" for the rest of this
annotated voyage, and after I just say a couple of more things
about Jem.

So, let me first admit, straight up, that I am currently completely
enamored of Jem. This has happened to me many times before,
most recently with the great Leonard Cohen, and before that
the Indigo Girls, and at earlier times in my life with a variety of
other recording artists and groups.

One of my all-time favorites has been and remains David Bowie.
It has always seemed to me that certain Bowie albums, both very
early (like Hunky Dory) and very late (like Reality), are put together
in such a way that Bowie, from the inside out, seems to know what
I'm thinking and feeling, and what I need to hear. That is, his music
is just absolutely perfect for me at certain times, like it was divinely
scripted to provide me with the insights, and emotional and spiritual
nourishment, that only great music and a great musician can provide.

Well, for me, with Jem, it has been the same way. From the moment
I knew Shadow was gone, her words and music – and more
importantly, the energy behind them – served as my refuge and
rock of healing. Now, in what follows I'm only going to briefly
describe five of her songs from her two albums and the impact
they've had on me. But both her newer album, "Down to Earth,"
and her first album," Finally Woken," are fabulous, and it really is
only in the context of both works taken together that I have
benefited so much from her. She's got great beginnings, great drums,
heart-felt lyrics, a sense of fun, a sense of spiritual profundity, and
is also quite fetching. If you feel moved to do so,
please support her by purchasing her music.

   Part 3: Instructions

OK, if you've read this far–if you've ever lost a pet or a person and
were devastated with grief and want to see how I got through it
this time, or if you just want to get turned on to some very cool
psycho-spiritually oriented music–then let me gently suggest that
you follow the following instructions:

     Listen to the video or audio on YouTube, following
     the YouTube link I give here, before going on and reading the
     text below each song.

So, it's kind of like a show and tell–you go to the URL, and spend 4 minutes
or so listening to the show–and then I do the telling
of what I found so compelling.

     Part 4: Five Gems by Jem

As I mentioned, I first heard my first Jem song the very night that was
the last night I ever saw Shadow. That song, oh so appropriately
named,is called "It's Just a Ride." There's a great YouTube video,
by Jem, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90KyZ1GbJGI.
[Please watch it and listen to it now, if you can.]

From the first lines, I knew I was hooked:

     Life, it's ever so strange, it's so full of change,
     think you've worked it out, then Bang!
     Right out of the blue, something happens to you,
     to throw you of course and then you…break down."

That's how I felt. Bang! Right out of the blue, my beautiful cat
was simply gone, with no explanation. I was crushed.
But then Jem exhorts us not to "break down," because:

     It's just a ride, it's just a ride, no need to run, no need to hide
     it'll take you all around, sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down
     it's just a ride, it's just a ride, don't be scared, don't hide your eyes
     it may feel so real inside, but don't forget, it's just a ride.

Now, in addition to the words and music with its fun driving beat
and harmonies, as well as some really fun visuals of things
happening to Jem (things that might cause someone to "break down"),
I love watching her head going back and forth,
side to side. The first time I saw Jem do these motions,
she struck me as being some kind of Hindu deity,
or reincarnated special being, letting us know that
on some level this is all illusion, that this is all just a ride.

Then the song comes to its dénouement:

     Slowly, oh so very slowly
     Accept that there's no getting off
     So live it, just gotta go with it
     'Cause this rides never gonna stop

Ultimately, then, it's just a ride, so "don't be scared, dry your eyes."

     It's just a ride, it's just a ride, no need to run, no need to hide
     it'll take you all around, sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down
     it's just a ride, it's just a ride, don't be scared, now dry your eyes
     it may feel so real inside, but don't forget, enjoy the ride.

So, "Just a Ride" got me some of the way there. I could take a step
back, move forward through Kubler-Ross's healing stages, and begin
to get to acceptance. But I was still feeling pretty bad a day or two later
when I purchased her second album, "Down to Earth," and listened
to her song "You Will Make It." There's no Jem video for this one, but
you can still listen to it on YouTube here at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wQVuALdpJw
[Please listen to it now.]

Well, this song was absolutely remarkable for me. Every word,
every line, seemed to be written just for me, just for my situation.
In fact, this is a spectacularly heartfelt grief song, appropriate
for a wide range of grief situations. I shared it with a therapist
friend of mine last week, at a small party, over my LG Dare phone,
and he was very moved and immediately said he would share it
with some of his clients. Let me give you the beginning lyrics now so you
can get a taste of it:

     Go to bed everything's alright
     Don't know the whole
     world's changing
     As you sleep through the night
     Wake up slowly and it's a
     different world

     Hear the news and the
     floods begin
     Screams so loud but only
     felt within
     Heart is shattered
     The pieces can't be found

     I feel your pain, I wrote this
     song for you, for you
     You will make it, you will
     make it through
     I promise you, he would
     want you to

So, yes, I went to bed when everything was all right, and woke up
to a world that was changed, with a shattered heart. And I really,
honestly, believe that when Jem says "I feel your pain, I wrote
this song for you," she actually did so. For me, personally, as well
as for everyone else who has suffered loss.

Such insight and pathos…For example, one lyric is:

     Helping hands but you
     push them away
     How could they understand
     Don't wanna share your pain
     Afraid to heal, 'cause that
     would be goodbye

The notion that sometimes we are afraid to heal in these kinds of
loss situations because that would mean really and finally saying
"Goodbye," struck me like a thunderclap. That was part of where
I was stuck, and now I knew it.

Then, after time passes, things change. We start to remember our
lost one in a different light, a positive light, like so:

     One day sunlight hits
     a photograph
     And it makes you smile
     The memories dance
     around you now
     And they make you smile
     You're not alone
     You'll never be
     Just like the stars
     They oversee
     And they whisper to you
     You're still, you're still,
     You're still, you're still alive

Then, after the "I feel your pain, I wrote this song for you" chorus,
Jem reads a poem (I'm told it's well known, but I'd never heard it)
where the lost one is now to be found….everywhere:

     Do not stand at my
     grave and weep
     I am not there I do not sleep
     I am a thousand winds that blow
     I am the diamond glints on snow
     I am the sun on ripened grain
     I am the gentle autumn rain
     When you awaken in the morning's hush
     I am the swift uplifting rush
     Of quiet birds in circled flight
     I am the soft stars that shine at night
     Do not stand at my grave and cry
     I am not there; I did not die

The song ends with some beautiful male vocalizations, and
trails off leaving the listener—leaving me—cleansed and
refreshed. My beautiful Shadow is still there, on the glints
of the ocean outside the window, in the gentle autumn rain,
in all the places where previously I only felt pain.

So, by this point, I was feeling…well, more human, more healed.
Then I turned towards this song, "Good it Good,
which you can listen to at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-l6LCpAvJY

This is a fun little song about gratitude, and I'll just give you a little
bit of the lyrics here:

     Got a soul, got a mind
     Got a heart that beats in time
     You've got a smile, got a voice
     Got the gift of love
     You've got it good
     Don't forget how lucky you are
     Darling, darling, use it to connect with everyone

Then there was Jem's great inspirational song, "It's Amazing."
You can hear it and see the lyrics at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHdA6RVTX7A

This song tells you that you can do it, that you must use your gift,
and that nothing can compare to "deserving your dreams." Jem
talks about her own rejections here, about hitting the wall, and
what it takes to move forward. The chorus is simple but empowering:

     It's amazing, it's amazing
     all that you can do
     it's amazing, it makes my heart sing
     Now it's up to you.

Then, near the end, Jem does a kind of electronic synthesized voice
as hypnotic induction, that is really pretty cool. The words are:

     Don't be embarrassed
     Don't be afraid
     Don't let your dreams slip away
     It's determination and using your gift
     And everybody has a gift
     Never give up
     Never believe the hype
     Trust your instincts and
     most importantly
     You've got nothing to lose
     So just go for it.

Well, this song made my heart sing, and has further inspired
me to re-commit to my most important projects.

Finally, take a listen to "On Top of the World" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peZVH846Kos. There's a great
part in this song, almost like a sudden epiphany or theophany
(an "in-breaking of the Divine"). The words go:

     All of a sudden
     The people, the talking, the telephone all fades away
     You visit a place in a timeless dimension where
     All of your fears are at bay.
     You can fly away….

I sincerely hope and wish that you've enjoyed this little
recap of my healing journey thanks to Jem,
and that you get the same kind of value from her that I have. She
truly is a gem, and I feel very lucky to have found her, for in
her words and music I have seen my own true face reflected
much more clearly.

And if you happen to be in grief right now, then, well,
I wrote this piece for you.

---------------------------

6. Please Chip-In to Help Enlightenment.Com

In the transcription from my State of the Site message above, I wrote:

Lastly, with the economy as it is, rebounder sales have plummeted,
and so once again we'd like to invite any of you who might have a
few spare dollars to support our ongoing work here at once of the
longest-running Enlightenment-oriented websites in existence. So,
if you can afford to Chip In, please go to the front page of
http://www.enlightenment.com and do so.

While we don't like having to ask for money, we do think we have
been doing and continue to do good and important work. We're
very excited about the new EnlightenRank ("Atom of Enlightenment")
initiative, and hope to bring that to you in a powerful way in the
coming year.

So, if you can Chip-In just $5 or $10 (or more), please do so.

---------------------------

7. Thanks!

Thanks for reading this newsletter. Thanks for sticking with
Enlightenment.Com for the long-run. Thanks for all your personal
work and practice and discipline and energy. Thanks for being
who you are. Special thanks to all those who have over the
years supported me and the website. Thanks to my two
partners, Jeramy and Gabriel. Thanks to all our lovely
families and friends and pets, those here and those gone.

So, thanks for many reasons,
and we at Enlightenment.Com wish all of you
a very wonderful New Year and a Great '09.

Best Blessings and Warmest Wishes,

Jordan Gruber, J.D., M.A.,
Founder, CEO, Enlightenment.Com

May this act, and all acts,
be dedicated unto the complete liberation
and supreme enlightenment
of all beings everywhere
pervading space and time,
so mote it be.

May the benefits of practice, ours and others,
come to fruition,
ultimately and immediately,
and we remain in the state of presence.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Tags: Enlightenment.Com, newsletter, Jordan Gruber, Jem, Shadow

When have you been the most at peace?

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 07:44:20 GMT

As a kid, playing in the ocean every day of the summer, week after week, year after year...Even today, when I feel my body as the ocean that it is, I feel peaceful.

Tags: QaR, peace, inner peace, acceptance, calmness, quiet, ocean

What was the last thing you wondered about?

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:12:56 GMT

I wondered about, and continue to wonder about, what happened to my truly wonderful and loving cat, Shadow. How could he just disappear off the face of the earth? Why is the Divine this cruel?

Tags: QaR, curious, curiosity, wonderment, wonder

Enlightenment.Com Newsletter Late July '08

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:35:26 GMT

Enlightenment.Com just posted a new newsletter. You can read it below in this blog post, or read it online at http://archive.mail-list.com/enlightenment-com/msg00003.html

Contents include:

an original Jordan Gruberessay entitled "Be Somewhere Else Now: Is the Internet De-Enlightening Us?"
a link to an in-depth audio interview with Russell Targ, psychic spy facilitator
an initial explanation of the Scoreboard at http://www.enlightenment.com/scoreboard/index.cfm.
an invitation to an enlightening Movie Premier: Stealing America, Vote By Vote, by Dorothy Fadiman

Enjoy!

-----------

Enlightenment.Com Newsletter -- Late July '08


    Contents of this Enlightenment.Com Newsletter:

1. Welcome to our 3rd plain-text newsletter.
2. An enlightening Movie Premier in New York and L.A.
3. An audio interview with psychic spy facilitator, Russell Targ.
4. An Original Essay:
     Be Somewhere Else Now: Is the Internet De-Enlightening Us?
5. Bungy-based Rebounders: Shipping Hiatus; Price Increase.
6. Here comes the Scoreboard!
7. Thanks!

[Note: This newsletter was written by Jordan S. Gruber,
Enlightenment.Com's Founder and CEO, who takes responsibility
for all errors and omissions found herein.
Please email me, mailto:jordan@enlightenment.com,
if you have any questions or concerns, or just want to say 'Hi.']

---------------------------
1. Welcome to the 3rd edition of our new plain-text newsletter.

Welcome to this newsletter, and thanks for taking whatever time
you can to peruse its contents.

Notwithstanding the 4-month interval since our last newsletter,
this edition had to be somewhat hurried at the end because of
two real-world timing considerations. First, there is a movie premier
in New York and Los Angeles that I very much you to know about.
Second, those of you who have been holding off should know
that there is a fast-approaching temporary stoppage in the shipping
of Bellicon's Ultimate bungy-based rebounders (as well as a price
increase starting August 18th).

New content includes an essay on whether the Internet is
making us spiritually superficial, as well as a free, in-depth
audio interview with Russell Targ who founded and ran
the CIA's "psychic spying" program at SRI.

Finally, it's time that we introduce you to the Scoreboard,
which is up and running as to Alexa traffic rank, as well as to
some additional concepts that we are actively working on.

OK, on to the rest of the newsletter.  Note that if you'd like to
unsubscribe, a link is provided near the end of this newsletter.

---------------------------
2.  An enlightening Movie Premier

[When you're ready, please click through to
http://www.concentric.org/stealingamericascreenings
to see when and where the movie premiers.]

We usually don't go out of our way to promote specific movies--
especially for movies that might seem to contain a political
agenda--but in this case we'll make an exception, and I'll
explain why shortly.

The movie, "Stealing America: Vote by Vote," is
Dorothy Fadiman's effort to tell the stories (with Peter Coyote
as narrator) of the people who, during the last presidential
elections, found their votes not counting or actively being
"switched" on electronic voting machines. It's an amazingly
chilling and important movie.  I urge you to go see it if possible,
and to let your friends in New York and Los Angeles know about
the premiers in those two crucial cities.

You can read more about the movie and see some clips here:
http://www.stealingamericathemovie.org/.

The New York premier is on August 1st, and the Los Angeles
premier in on August 15th, with other premiers coming to
other cities around the country. You can read about the premiers
at http://www.concentric.org/stealingamericascreenings

So, why am I recommending this movie in the
Enlightenment.Com newsletter? First, I've seen the movie,
and I personally feel it is very, very important to realize that
democracy itself is hanging by a thread.

Second, the award-winning filmmaker, Dorothy Fadiman,
is a close friend of mine, and her other movies, including
the psycho-spiritual classic "Radiance," are truly superb. Dorothy,
through her production company, Concentric Media,
(http://www.concentric.org) has tackled many tough social issues,
and I can guarantee you that she completely dedicated
-- with all her heart, spirit, and mind -- to serving the
collective good.

Additionally, Dorothy's husband, Jim Fadiman, is one of
Enlightenment.Com's best and longest-term supporters.
Jim, who is a former director of the Institute of Noetic Sciences
and who co-founded the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology,
has three different interviews (two written, one audio) on
Enlightenment.Com and can be accessed from the front page
at http://www.enlightenment.com.

Bottom line: It's crucial that as many people as possible
see this movie in its opening weeks so that it is picked up
nationally and so that the extremely important message
it delivers reaches public awareness generally. So if you know
anyone who is interested in such issues, please forward the
announcement to them. Thanks in advance for your help.

---------------------------
3. An Audio Interview with ESP-Expert Russell Targ

[See http://www.enlightenmentchannel.com/Russell_1.html]

Russell Targ, physicist and founder of the CIA-supported
remote viewing program at Stanford Research Institute,
has recently come forth with his memoir, entitled
"Do You See What I See? -- Lasers and Love, ESP and
the CIA, and the Meaning of Life."

The book itself (published by Hampton Roads, 2008) is a
fine read, as Russell has personally known many fascinating
people (e.g., he is Bobby Fischer's brother-in-law, and as a
young man he attended salons with Ayn Rand), and more
importantly, has done many fascinating things. Russell is
a great story-teller as well. For those interested in ESP,
PSI, and psychic functioning generally, this is a must-read.

And more to the point, the in-depth interview that I very
recently conducted wit Russell is now available to you,
free of charge, from our Enlightenment.Com home page,
at http://www.enlightenmentchannel.com/Russell_1.html.

You can download and listen to individual tracks, or
download the entire interview in either good quality or
high quality .mp3 format. Russell has some fascinating
things to say about why and how ESP and PSI work,
and he is also very adept and explaining Buddhist and
Advaita Vedanta ideas about self-liberation, enlightenment.
and the idea that we "give all the meaning" to everything
that has meaning for us (as in A Course in Miracles).

---------------------------
4. An Original Jordan S. Gruber Essay:
     Be Somewhere Else Now:
     Is the Internet De-Enlightening Us?


About a month ago I was saying to some friends that I
wasn't sure that I wanted an iPhone or the equivalent thereof
because I already felt, well, over-connected to the web.

"One of the first things I do in the morning is turn on my
computer," I pointed out, "and even when I have no particular
reason to be online, even when there are other productive
real-world things I'd rather be doing, I find myself ineluctably
drawn to seeing if I have new emails, reading the latest
news, and checking in on my social networking sites and
other interests."

Well, a few days later, as if on cue, in its July/August 2008
issue, The Atlantic magazine came out with a cover story
entitled, "Is Google Making Us Stoopid? – What the Internet
is Doing to Our Brains." The author, Nicholas Carr, begins with
a comparison to a scene near the end of Kubrik's
"2001: A Space Odyssey," where the supercomputer HAL is
being disassembled and is pleading for its mind: "Dave, my
mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it." Carr then writes:

"I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I've had an
uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been
tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry,
reprogramming the memory. My mind isn't going—so far as
I can tell—but it's changing. I'm not thinking the way I
used to think."

Carr then points out that he and many other people he's spoken
with have a much harder time than they used to in sitting down
and reading a real book or in-depth magazine article. These
days, he notes, many  us now kind of "skim" when we take in
information, surfing and hyper-linking from site to site, going
from article to article to article in a never-ending search for the
next piece of information or the next image  that will satisfy our
data cravings. (Irving Biderman, in a Los Angeles Times op ed
piece entitled "The Crackberry yields clues on our data-driven
desires," reviews brain research showing that finding the next
piece of "new data" gives us a neurologically rewarding,
opiate-like, "fix.')

As Carr also points out, technological advances that change
the way things have previously been done have been noted
and decried for centuries. From language to writing to the
printing press, each time a watershed innovation comes along
there's also a fundamental change in the way we humans
think and process information.

So what's wrong with this? Isn't it possible that yielding to the
iPhone and the need to nearly always be online is more of an
evolutionary development than something to try and fight
against? So what if we read fewer full books than before?
So what if we're not even as capable as we used to be of reading
the kind of in-depth materials that we were raised on in
high school, college, and beyond?

The fact is, we all have far, far more access to a much
wider range of information than we've ever had before, including
information on spirituality, enlightenment, and the psycho-spiritual
tools, techniques, teachings, and teachers that are the long-term
focus of Enlightenment.Com. So why not just assume
that all of this a positive development, and let it go at that?


The Real Problem

The real problem isn't that the way we're taking in and using
information is changing. Instead, the crux of the problem, as I
see it, is that we are much less frequently present in the moment,
in our bodies, in the skin-encapsulated psycho-spiritual framework,
the only place (I believe) where something like "enlightenment"
is really possible.

Think of Ram Das saying, "Be here now," or Eckhart Tolle's great
theme, "The Power of Now." When you are online,
are you Being Here Now or Being Somewhere Else Now?
Of course, one might argue that those who are online or who are
communicating by cell phones are, in fact, in their own cyber-now,
but in my experience, it just isn't the same.

Remember, we have a very long tradition in the West of either
ignoring or, more directly, vilifying our bodies. In my experience,
many of us "spiritual types" are woefully weak in terms of the "body"
part of the body/mind/spirit equation. Being online rarely involves
us in our bodies the way many other simple real-world activities do.
(For a very interesting take on where there is "more" information,
online or offline, see Bill McKibben's great book, "The Age of
Missing Information," with our book review available
at http://www.enlightenment.com/media/bookrevs/mckibben.html.)

So, if you're finding yourself constantly pulled to check your voice
messages, check your email, and go online and play with your
cyber-friends, then there's a good chance that your other
psycho-spiritual practices are suffering somewhat.
If it's easier to go online than it is to meditate or pray, and going
online is neurologically rewarding and socially stimulating, why
bother meditating or praying? If it's easier to go online than it is to
engage in your physical disciplines or to interact with or serve
those immediately around you, why bother with the real world?


The Drive to Enlightenment

There was another very interesting article in the July/August 2008
Atlantic magazine. In "Distracting Miss Daisy," John Staddon
compares the state of American versus British traffic signs. He says
that while America has many more traffic signs of all types,
the accident and fatality rates are both generally higher. Why?
Because traffic signs train Americans to look at traffic signs rather
than the road, and we come to rely on traffic signs rather than
what's going on in real-time as we drive. Paying attention in real-time
to what's actually happening right in front of you, Staddon says,
is far more valuable than assuming that the signs will take care of
everything if you just place your full attention on them.

The analogy here is obvious: the ubiquitous data-web, whether
through cellphone or laptop or desktop, gives us lots of signs,
signals, and other information about what's happening in the world
beyond where we happen to actually be physically and
psycho-spiritually located. The more attention we pay to this
online data-flow, the less attention we necessarily pay to
the real world that we are actually embodied in and locally part of.

(The studies on cellphone use are very clear: the real safety issue
isn't about whether or not you're driving hands-free, as California
law recently mandated, the real issue is that when you're on the
phone with anyone, you pay far less attention to driving. As brain
scans have convincingly shown, when you're on the phone, reaction
times are slower, accident rates are higher, and using a headset or
speakerphone changes this very little.)

Now, I'm no Luddite. I have multiple Macintosh computers, and I
even just got a new cell phone (no, not an iPhone, but an LG Dare).
And I love my Casio EX-F1 that shoots in super-slow motion.
(See my slo-mo bee starting at 29 seconds in at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4fnFLWEL78 .)

However…I recognize that I, like many others, have a tendency to
get over-involved in technology at the risk of ignoring that
unbelievably complex and generaly underused piece of
equipment – the human bio-computer and body/brain
co-creation device – that we are all issued as part of our
ticket into this world.

Proper appropriate use of technology is fine, but knowing when
and where  to draw the line is absolutely critical. Most importantly,
it's crucial to have a sense of whether our technology is
unconsciously deflecting us from our chosen psycho-spiritual
practices and pursuits.

When I once asked Ken Wilber about the viability of entheogens
as a spiritual practice, he said, "Well, don't just do drugs. Make
sure you have a spiritual practice." I think the same thing
holds here: don't just surf psycho-spiritual websites; make sure
that you have an ongoing, integral, practice that really serves
you in the short- and long-run.

Truly, there's no doubt that the Internet is amazingly cool, and
that it has brought us worlds of wonder and serves as a fantastic
data and information, and perhaps even knowledge and wisdom,
resource. But the primary material for your own ongoing evolution
and transformation is something that you can already
tune into -- in real time and in real space -- without any electronic
interface. Too much of anything, including the Internet,
is unlikely to be good for us, so be here now most of the time,
rather than usually, virtually, being somewhere else.
(And then...you can blog about it.  ;-))

---------------------------
5. Ultimate Bungy-Based Rebounders:
     Shipping Hiatus; Price Rise

[Go to http://www.enlightensource.com/buybellicon.html to
order your bungy-based Bellicon Ultimate Rebounder.]

Fans and followers of Enlightenment.Com know that for
the past year we have been supporting the site solely through
the sale of Bellicon's bungy-based rebounders, which are,
in my experience, the best rebounders in the world. (And,
needless to say, I think that rebounding is one of the best
integral exercises in the world.)

(For a quick review of what rebounding is, go to
http://jordangruber.com/rebound.php, and for a
lot more information--everything from FAQs on equipment
to video to a free downloadable .pdf book--go to
http://pods.gaia.com/digital_darshan .

So, just in case you were thinking that it was time for you
to invest in a bungy-based rebounder, you should know
that ALL ORDERS MADE AFTER THIS COMING
TUESDAY, JULY 29th, WILL NOT BE SHIPPED UNTIL
AUGUST 18TH. Also, prices will go up noticeably on
August 18th as well.

Put differently, if you want a bungy-based rebounder
at the current price -- see
http://www.enlightensource.com/buybellicon.html -- then
you have to order by August 17th. And if you want to get the
rebounder in the next week or two, you have to order by this
Tuesday, July 29th.

Blessed Bouncing, Blessed Be;
Make Your Body, Light with Chi!

---------------------------
6. Here Comes the Scoreboard!

[Go to http://www.enlightenment.com/scoreboard/index.cfm.
But note that the Scoreboard sometimes goes "down" still,
so please be patient with us.]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Since Enlightenment.Com was first conceived in 1995, the
eventual creation of something akin to a Consumer Reports
rating system has always been one of its goals. Now, with the
Scoreboard 1.0, we have begun the task of sorting out who's
who, and what's what, among the vast number of websites that
have enlightenment* as one of their primary goals.

The Scoreboard, version 1.0, lists 50 or so
enlightenment-oriented websites, and ranks them according to
their total traffic (as taken from Amazon.Com's Alexa service, with
lower numbers being better or standing for higher total traffic).
The goal here at this early stage is to begin to determine
"what works" in the pscho-spiritual universe by seeing which sites
are the most popular in terms of total web traffic rank.

We recognize, of course, that the Alexa traffic rank is a
poor proxy for how good, true, or beautiful
an enlightenment-related site is, but we have to start somewhere.
In the near future, we are going to present a kind of
"EnlightenMatrix" or "map" of the online psycho-spiritual space that
will enable us all to get a much better feel for what different sites
(and the impetus behind them, and the leaders behind them) are
really like. We will add User Ratings as well, and eventually let
you sort the Scoreboard by different factors.

Another way to use the Scoreboard is just as a jumping-off point,
a tool for exploration. Why are these the most popular
enlightenment-oriented websites? What of value is there in them?
How can they be made better? Yes, there's Google and
many other listing of psycho-spiritual sites, but the mix of
interests you'll find here is a bit different than anywhere else on
the web, because, after all, we are...Enlightenment.Com.
(Live the name; live the entelechy.)

All feedback will be considered. If we're missing a site that has a
traffic rank of 100,000 or less, or there's a site that should be on
there that isn't, then let us know, at
mailto:scoreboard@enlightenment.com.
We take ourselves both very lightly and very seriously, but in
any case, we know that enlightenment is now a group activity,
a planetary endeavor, and therefore we both ask for,
and welcome, your input and assistance.

[*For our purposes, as always, "enlightenment" refers not so much to
the Western notion of "The Enlightenment," the great Age of Reason
that shaped modern European thought and brought us science and
the modern world as we know it, but rather, the crossing point where
spirituality, mysticism, Eastern and Western estoric thought,
self-development, self-growth, health consciousness, and many other
"off the beaten path" types of practices and experiences
come together, from the mundane to the quite wild and "out there."

So while we rely on no one single definition of "enlightenment,"
if you examine our website's pages, feel our vibe, and resonate
with who we are, what we've done in the past, and what we're
doing now, it's likely we share a great deal. (For a list of one way
of categorizing the online enlightenment universe, see our chart
of "20 Types of Psycho-Spiritulaists" available under the "Essays"
pull-down menu on our front page at http://enlightenment.com.
As you'll note, there are many, many different types of
psycho-spiritual seekers out there.)]

---------------------------

7. Thanks!

Thanks for reading this newsletter. Thanks for sticking with
Enlightenment.Com for the long-run. Thanks for all your personal
work and practice and discipline and energy. Thanks for being
who you are. Special thanks to all those who have over the
years supported me and the website. Thanks to my two
partners, Jeramy and Gabriel. Thanks to all our lovely
families and friends and pets. So, thanks for many reasons,
and we at Enlightenment.Com wish all of you
a wonderful rest of your Summer.

Best Blessings and Warmest Wishes,

Jordan S. Gruber
Founder and CEO, Enlightenment.Com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


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Tags:

"Yeah, but...is bouncing FUN?"

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:41:50 GMT

One of the reasons I see rebounding taking off dramatically in the next few years is that, plain and simple, it's a whole lot of fun. It just *feels* really good, and I frequently enter periods of flat-out ecstacy.

From the very first time I got on a quality rebounder 6 years ago (I'm not counting my experience with a cheap rebounder in 1984), I simply really liked the way it felt. There's a physical and energetic expansion which, coupled with the wave-like motion of rebounding, naturally pulls me (entrains me) into states of physical and psychological bliss.

And while video doesn't quite capture the actual feeling, I think that the look on my face in these three videos can give you a pretty good "taste" of what you have to look forward to from a regular rebounding practice.

Having Fun While Bouncing (Slo-Mo)

Happy Band Bouncing, June 08 (SloMo)

More Happy Bouncing (SloMo)

Tags: rebounding, chibounding, bouncing, slow motion, slomo, Casio EX-F1

Matthew Mogen 2nd Audio Interview on His Daily Bounce

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:08:08 GMT

Hello there all rebounding people and potential rebounding people!

On December 14th I interviewed Matthew Mogen (who works for Zaadz/Gaia Community) on his year-long commitment to rebounding daily. (You can read that previous post here, along with some comments, and listen to the previous interview as well: http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com/blog/2007/12/rebounding_45_days_straight_an_audio_interview_w_matthew_mogen)

Well, about a month ago I had a followup interview with Matthew. To listen to the .mp3, go to http://www.jordangruber.com/media/matthew_2ndcheckin.mp3. Matthew has some fascinating things to say about his rebounding practice. Matthew and I talk about:

his 25 pounds of weight loss (all fat, he says)
how he also went off sugar
how he also got a spring-based rebounder for a trip, and how he likes supplementing his bungy-based rebounding with his spring-based rebounding
some useful information about rebounding once you have a cold

Matthew also states that he plans on rebounding for the long-run, and that, in general, he's very happy with the changes that he's seen as a result of it.

Please come to my pod on chibounding if you have any interest in rebounding, and if you want to get what I believe is the best rebounder available, please come to http://www.enlightensource.com. NOTE THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, PRICES ARE ABOUT TO RISE AGAIN ON THESE UNITS (the production has moved entirely into Germany), so if you want to get the current prices, kyou have to act by June 15th.

And you can always feel free to write me with any questions.

best bouncing,

Jordan

Tags: chibounding, rebounding, exercise, lymph, Bellicon bungy, bungy rebounder

Rebounding SloMo Back Test at 300 fps

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:57:16 GMT

Well, it's trick working with slow motion, but i find it fascinating, both from the technical point of view and in terms of what it shows me about what happens to the human body (in this case, my body) as I rebound.

This particular shot is at 300 frames per second, so played back at normal speeds everything appears to be going 1/10th as slowly as normal.

Bouncing Back 300 FPS Casio EX-F1

Tags:

Slow Motion Rebounding Test

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:56:35 GMT

Well, I have my new Casio EX-F1, and I just *love* it, especially the high speed video (which makes slow motion playback possible).

I'm still experimenting with how to work it best. One thing I learned is if you are going to do slow motion, you need strong, steady light. In any case, I took the following rebounding video two days ago, May 7th, at 300 frames per second.

Obviously, many things could be improved here: it would be nice to lose the vignette, but I needed the wide-angle; the light is still intermittent; the focus could be a little better; and somebody get me a gorgeous and enthusiastic model so I'm not always the focus here. ;-)

But still, I think the kind of "time microscopy" made possible here will enable me to further understand and breakdown the mechanics and energetics of rebounding. For example, I think this video helps make somewhat clearer how the arms and shoulders come into play on the downward trajectory on a medium-high bounce like this one.

Do let me know if you have any questions or comments. I'm still hoping to get a much simplified rebounding manual out this year.

-- Jordan

Slow Motion Rebounding Test

Tags: slow motion, rebounding

chocolate mind reading

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:44:08 GMT

so, i'm at Whole Foods and have just finished a medium-sized cup of northwest salmon chowder...
and thinking, "do i want to go buy a high-grade chocolate bar for later today, or not?"

and as i'm having this thought,

this old guy sitting at the table next to mine -- Lee, it turns out, a retired theater teacher from the high school my daughter is likely to attend -- says to me, "pardon me, but would you like a chocolate?" and reaches this bag out to me with 3 chocolates in it...

just happened...
it really *felt* like he was reading my mind

Tags: chocolate, mind reading

Slow Motion Bee (at 27 seconds)

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:40:46 GMT

Look starting at about 27 seconds. I think this was shot at 600 frames per second, but may have been 300 fps, with my new Casio Exelim EX-F1.

Slo Mo Bee with New Casion EX-F1

Tags: bee, slow motion, slomo

If you could combine two interests, what would they be?

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:47:02 GMT

Multiple orgasms and rebounding...just kidding!

Actually, though, it would be rebounding and enlightenment. I think they go together anyway, in the sense that regular rebounding automatically leads to a focus on breathwork, and also, following Marx, Maslow, and lots of other folks, until you "handle" the physical component of your being, including the need to regularly exercise, it is very difficult to focus on spioritual pursuits as well.

As to whether rebounding is or can be a focus of one's integral practice, see http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com/blog/2006/6/a_practice_thats_integral_to_your_life.

Tags: QaR, connection, rebboudning

All Beatles Shabbat Service: Is my synagogue cool, or what?

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:32:54 GMT

OK, is my synagogue cool or not? The only thing we're missing is a sitar...the practice was a gas. I love singing my heart out. Two years ago, after my dad died, I inspired a led a Leonard Cohen Shabbat, which was also a gas.

I'm still not "seriously" Jewish in the sense of the theology, but community is community, and this one is familiar to me. See my previous blog entry on how fun it was to discover a cool Rabbi.

OK, gotta go bounce.

00 J.

Tags: Beatles Shabbat, Judaism, George, Paul, John, Ringo, fun

What do you remember of your childhood home?

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:54:20 GMT

I lived at on 226th St., in Laurelton, New York, in the borough of Queens (part of New York CIty) from the time I was 2 until the time I was 14.

I remember the house very well. It was white on the outside, and had two little railed off areas on either side of the front door that you could climb into. We had a little lawn, with a mimosa tree that got broken in half by my friend David but which survived to become a mighty tree.

The backyard also had a towering tree, an elm, I think, and there was a "secret passage" to the neighbors house on the other side of the block.

It was a 3-story home. The basement had these bizarre patterns on the floor in the boiler room, and then my sister made the basement her room when she was a teenager. There was also a mirrored bar down there, but nobody drank in my home so we just used it for storage.

The main floor: a front door with a bizarre glass pattern that looked like a distorted face to me. You came in, and there was the piano to your immediate left. (See pic.) I used to crawl through the legs of the piano until I got too big. We had a nice dining room, a kitchen that was separated into two parts by counters, and thick glass-block windows at the end of the kitchen through which diffuse light streamed in. Then there was the den, where I watched TV. On the way into the den there was the cookie cabinet, and my mom always kept that stocked.

Upstairs were 5 bedrooms. My bedroom, when my brother and grandmother were still in the house, had to be passed through to get to their rooms. Later on, when my brother went to college, I took over his room, and his collection of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazines (and Playboys).

It was a warm, happy house, and my parents had lots and lots of "company" as they called it. (They were very very active in the local synagogue.)

I went back to the "big house," as my mom still calls it, about 15 years ago. Laurelton has become a very different place now, and when I rang the front bell and asked if I could come in and see my childhood home, the woman who answered looked very suspicious -- probalby thought I was a cop or something worse -- and said "no."

But my memroies are very vivid ... the snow falling ... the leaves ... seeing my breath and/or "punks" in the garage at night ... rolling on the front lawn with my magnificent cat Snoopy...those were the days, eh?

-- Jordan

Tags: QaR, home, house, memories, remembering

Nearly Everything You Need To Know To Start Rebounding

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:02:02 GMT

There may be no better physical exercise than rebounding: it is fun, easy, safe, con-venient, and powerfully effective; its proven effects include immune system boost, aerobic training, flexibility gain, and weight loss or redistribution; it may also make your cells, bones, and the rest of you stronger, gravitationally, from the “inside out.”

Rebounding is more powerful than it may look: go slowly at first, and always be conscious, aware, and safe when you are on, near, or getting on/off a rebounder.

Choose a high quality rebounder; you’ll be glad you did in the short and long run.

If you need a stabilizer bar, get one, but many people won’t need one, and your balance and ability to safely bounce and stay on will rapidly improve.

Bounce without socks and shoes if you can, and bounce outdoors when you can!

Make it a high priority is to keep rebounding for whatever minimum time you set; to do this, pick five or six basic (natural enjoyable) moves that you can always come back to – e.g., jumping jack, torso twists, arm circles, running in place, etc.

Time flows easily with music, television, meditation, phone, or bouncing with others.

When rebounding, always allow and encourage yourself to fully breathe – the master key to health and healing – letting your shoulders and pelvis relax, and filling your body with as much air and energy as possible, as you work through, dissolve, and release stuck physical and energetic patterns.

If you ever get out of breath, just relax and keep bouncing, and the rebounder will begin to breathe you, move you, and recharge your energy.

There are thousands of different ways to use a rebounder, many of which will be unique to you, e.g., just slightly turning your hands can totally change the effects of a jumping jack, and barely raising your heels can fully alter your leg usage.

A rebounder is a kind of universal machine in that almost any other type of physical practice (ballet, martial arts, skiing, etc.) can be brought to it – try what you like!

Rebounding is a universal inner practice as well, as almost any other type of interior, psychological, emotional, or spiritual practice (meditation, mantra, mandala, visualization, chanting, singing, sound play, etc.) can be brought to it.

Hand weights may be good for a part of a workout, but keep them light, don’t whip them around, and bounce without them before ending your workout. Experiment with other apparatus as well -- magic rings, stretchy bands -- but always be gentle and thoughtful.

Rebounding is a precious, amazing, and vital gift to give to yourself and to others!

Tags: rebounding, chibounding, abounding health, spiritriser, on the rebound, bellicon, bellicon rebounder, exercise, health, lymph

Reduced to Tears by Obama "Yes We Can" Video

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:08:29 GMT

Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video

I find this very strange, but when I watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY
I found myself reduced to tears.

Why? Is it just that I'm a sucker for shmaltz? Maybe.

But I think it's because, for so very, very long, I have not been willing to believe ... to hope ... for something better in American politics. After the 8 years of the current Bush regime, a regime which I believe is not legitimate in many ways, the possibility of a kind of political resurrection is something I dared not hope for.

And now, although I was not an early Obama supporter, I have something like a modicum of hope. I believe not only that Obama would handily beat John McCain (something I don't think Hilary could do, because people just don't really like or trust her), I believe he would be a great President.

Being filled with hope as to the U.S....I pray to God, Goddess, and All That Is that Barak Obama is elected President, that he is kept safe, that he is allowed and aided in doing the kind of work that, as it turns out, only he can do at this juncture in American history.

"Charisma" is technically defined as "the gift of grace," and more specifically, it refers to the ability of a leader to foster change in his or her followers. I did not know, until today, until watching this song, that Barak Obama does indeed have charisma, and I invite you to look at this video, allow yourself to hope, and then go out there and work on his behalf.

-- A Political Message From Someone Who Is Surprised To Be Offering A Poitical Message

Tags: Barak Obama, Presidential Politics

ChiBounding Video: Jordan Gruber Band Bouncing Nov. 07

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:57:34 GMT

ChiBounding: Jordan Gruber Band Bouncing Nov. 07

A Quick Explanation: Just another ordinary evening of bouncing for me, this time using one of those stretchy bands from Pilates. I only use the bands for a few minutes of each workout, but they do give a real nice alternative for a certain kind of upper body stretching and workout.

In the last 15 seconds you can see how much I enjoy bouncing, especially when I'm listening to music I really love.

The audio is a bit low, so you may want to turn up your volume or speakers. Thanks for watching!

And see my pod, http://pods.gaia.com/digital_darshan, for more information.

Tags: chibounding, rebounding, bouncing, band bouncing, jordan gruber, bellicon, bellicon ultimate rebounder, bellicon ultimate bungy-based rebounder

Enlightenment.Com Newsletter -- 2007 Wrap-Up

http://enlightenmentdotcom.gaia.com — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:27:01 GMT

Enlightenment.Com Newsletter -- 2007 Wrap-Up

[Note: This was sent to the Enlightenment.Com newsletter list yesterday, 
December 28, 2007.  If you'd liketo sign up to receive future newsletters, 
please send a blank message to Enlightenment-Com-on@mail-list.com

   Contents of this Enlightenment.Com Newsletter:

1. Welcome to our new, simplified, newsletter format.
2. The State of the Site
3. The Archival Revival: Mostly Completed!
4. A New in-depth Audio Interview with Steve McIntosh, author
of *Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution*
5. ChiBounding: Prices about to rise on Bellicon Rebounders
6. Thanks!


[Note: This newsletter was written by Jordan Gruber,
Enlightenment.Com's Founder and CEO, and he takes responsibility
for all errors and omissions found here and throughout 
Enlightenment.Com. Please email me, mailto:jordan@enlightenment.com,
if you have any questions or concerns.]

---------------------------

1. Welcome to our new, simplified, plain-text newsletter. As you may
remember, about a year ago we were in deep financial distress,
which  resulted in our switching servers to save money. 
As part of the switch we lost our newsletter capability, which is
why you haven't received a newsletter in several months.

But now we are working with a newsletter provider, and can once
again reach out to you. We won't be sending them more than once a month 
at most, and more likely every other month. If you'd like to
unsubscribe, a link is provided near the bottom of this newsletter.

---------------------------

2.          *The State of the Site*

So, you might ask, how is Enlightenment.Com doing these days?

Well, I would have to say that overall, we're doing really well.

First, we've managed to get through another financial and energetic
choke point when we switched servers to a much lower-cost
server over the summer. This switch caused a great deal of 
disruption, but it seems that, overall, we've gotten
through nearly all of that -- the small commissions we receive on
sales of Bellicon rebounders is keeping the site financially
afloat -- and we are ready to really dig into our next
dozen years as an online entity.

Keep in mind that Enlightenment.Com is among the oldest
continuously running psycho-spiritual websites, as well as 
among the very first to provide blogs, audio, video, and more.
Having once been very far ahead of the curve, we're now
a bit behind in some things. But for now, we're quite content
to still be around, and to be able to occasionally provide you with
new, interesting, or useful bit of content or news.  

Second, we're very pleased that the Archival Revival is mostly
completed. Look on our front page, http://enlightenment.com, and
check under book reviews, audio interviews, video interviews, 
written interviews, and so on, and you'll see that there is
quite a lot of content available for free.

Third, along these same lines, we have been adding *new content*,
including the full transcript of our 1st-ever 
audio interview with Ken Wilber at
http://www.enlightenment.com/media/interviews/wilber1.html.
We also have some brand new material up, such as the very
recent audio interview with integral author Steve McIntosh 
(just go to http://enlightenment.com and look under audio interviews).
Or, take a look at, or rather, a listen to, Jim Fadiman's audio
interview on transpersonal psychology, recorded just a few
months ago.

[Some of the old content is pretty cool too. For example, take
a look at the video interviews with Richard Ely, Sacred Geologist.
Or the Charley Tart videos.]

Fourth and finally, we are still here, still paying attention, still
looking long-term at what, exactly, a site like "Enlightenment.Com"
is supposed to be. That is, in a perfect world, or at least one better than
this one, what would a site called "Enlightenment.Com" add to the 
world?

Personally, I have always endeavored to make it possible for
such a site to provide some kind of impartial access to information 
about "what works" amongst the vast range  of 
psycho-spiritual tools, techniques, teachings, and
teachers. So, when the time is right for us to be among 
the first Web 3.0 psycho-spiritual websites -- or whatever it 
is that will really come next to the web -- 
we'll do our best to continue to be here for you. Digital Darshan, 
I'm quite sure, is still in our collective cyber-future...

---------------------------

3. The Archival Revival is now mostly completed. Go to 
http://Enlightenment.Com and simply use the various pull-down
menus to take you to:

     * Written Interviews (10 available right now)
     * Video Interviews (4 available right now)
     * Audio Interviews (7 available right now)
     * Book Reviews (18 available right now)
     * Journals (1 available right now, more coming!)
     * Essays, Fiction, Misc. (6 available right now)

One thing that will be coming back online are my (Jordan's) 
Classic Enlightenment Journals. I will be putting these back
because a good deal of my thought went into them and 
they provide background for some of the ongoing themes that underly 
Enlightenment.Com. That is, they illustrate and perhaps begin to 
implement the deep memetic underbelly of Enlightenment.Com.

Additionally, as the adding of Steve McIntosh's new audio interview
shows (put up today, December 27th, 2007), 
the Archive is continuing to grow with brand new material
even as the rest of the old material is being added. 

Now, there are some things that we have never yet put up --
the full interview with Byron Katie, for example -- and we'll
be putting those up too over time. So, we hope you enjoy what's
here and what's going to be coming here in the future.

---------------------------

4. A new audio interview with Steve McIntosh, author of *Integral
Consciousness and the Future of Evolution*, is now available from
the front page of http://Enlightenment.com under the pull-down menu
under "Audio Interviews."

Steve has written a great new book that I like a lot. In fairness,
Steve is one of my oldest friends -- he was a year ahead of me when
we met on Law Review at the University of Virginia School of Law --
and to this day we are very close. Also, I take pride in the fact
that I was among the first people to introduce Steve to the ideas
of Ken Wilber, as I had been reading Ken from the time I was in
my early twenties. 

The interview is in audio format, and segmented into five different
clickable .mp3 files (just click and your web browser should be 
able to handle the file). Just to give you a brief taste of what
the book is about, here's what I wrote about it on Amazon:

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much Needed Synthesis of Integral Thoughts (e.g., consciousness 
evolution) and Thinkers (e.g., Ken Wilber), September 10, 2007
By Jordan Gruber "CEO, Enlightenment.Com"

Instructive, impassioned, and articulate, Steve McIntosh has gifted 
us with a provocative synthesis of integral thought and thinkers. 
Both historical retrospective and moral-evolutionary prognosis, 
*Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution* challenges us 
to test what we already know against what we hope may one day be 
possible.

Fans of Ken Wilber may have differing reactions to the fair-handed 
but discerning treatment of their intellectual hero that makes up 
a relatively small part of this book. In addition to his very 
thorough walk-through of integral thought and thinkers, McIntosh 
also provides fresh and original insights, especially with regard 
to integral politics and the actual real-time functioning of 
the inter-subjective realm of being.

As a life-long student of integral thought and thinking, 
I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wishes to 
continue including-yet-transcending the bounds of their own 
spiritual and philosophical inquiries.

---------------------------

5. ChiBounding: Prices about to rise on Bellicon Rebounders

Well, ChiBounding remains my primary integral practice focus.
I'm now closing in on 5 and a half years of a daily bouncing
practice, and I can honestly say that I love it as much as
ever. I've written a great deal about ChiBounding on the 
Zaadz website at http://pods.zaadz.com/digital_darshan, including
everything from health benefits to a free .pdf book that will
give you as much detail as you might want.

And I've written an essay on why, exactly, ChiBounding is 
*my integral practice* at 
http://enlightenmentdotcom.zaadz.com/blog/2006/6/a_practice_thats_integral
_to_your_life (you may
have to cut and paste the entire link for this to work).

By the way: I'm not the only one bouncing daily. Matthew Mogen, who
works for Zaadz.com, has committed to bouncing daily for a year and
blogging about it. His blog is: http://matthew.zaadz.com/blog. He
credits me for directly inspiring him, and I'm thrilled that someone
else is undertaking the same sort of rebounding experiment that
I am.

Lastly, I'm happy to say that I am now actively engaged in producing
a set of much simpler, illustrated, materials that will, I hope,
induce many more folks to try daily rebounding and ChiBounding. But
more about that in the next newsletter.

So, one of the great things about rebounding these days is that unlike
in the old days, the equipment is much better. There are rebounders
made of springs that can take a heavy workout, and even better,
there are now European-made rebounders that use bungy-bands, that
provide a much nicer bounce, and that are really far better than
anything that has come before. 

BUT THE PRICES ON THESE 
EUROPEAN-MADE BELLICON BUNGY-BASED
REBOUNDERS ARE GOING UP ON JANUARY 1ST, 2008,
by about $50 on average. 

So this is one last chance before 2007 ends to save yourself $50 or 
so and get the best rebounder that you can at
http://www.Enlightensource.com/buybellicon.html.

In truth, I would like to see the prices of these come way down,
and that will happen to some extent, we hope, over the
next few years, as the dollar strengthens
and as manufacture of the units moves to the U.S. Another 
possibility is that someone else will produce a quality
bungy-based product, but as of yet, there is no news
of that. [As always, I'll tell you everything I know 
about bungy-based and spring-based rebounding equipment 
as soon as I hear anything new.]

But for now, this is the best rebounding exercise equipment 
I know of, and as far as I'm concerned, rebounding is one of 
the best full-on psycho-spiritual or integral
exercises regimes available. (Fun, simple, easy, safe, 
highly effective, nearly infinitely adaptable.) So please 
take a look if you think you might have any long-term interest
in this fabulous form of integral exercise.

 http://www.Enlightensource.com.

---------------------------

6. Thanks!

Thanks for reading this newsletter. Thanks for sticking with
Enlightenment.Com for the long-run. Thanks for all your personal
work and practice and discipline and energy. Thanks for being
who you are. Special thanks to all those who have over the
years supported me and the website. Thanks to my two 
partners, Jeramy and Gabriel. Thanks to all our lovely 
families and friends and pets. So, thanks for many reasons,
and we at Enlightenment.Com wish all of you 
a very wonderful new year.

Best Blessings and Warmest Wishes,

Jordan Gruber
Founder, CEO, Enlightenment.Com

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Tags: Enlightenment.Com, newsletter