This was in today's Saipan Tribune; might be of interest to some in this listserv. THE PROFOUND HUMANITYOF CHOICE The Egyptians noticed that the sun sets down before dusk andrises again at dawn; they created the Rah Sun story ascending into the skies torest after the day underneath the Nile to rise again completing a 24-hrcycle. That metaphor has beentransformed many times over. The Greekstook it into Mt. Olympus, renamed a menagerie of spirits led by Zeus as the headhoncho of warring forces, like humans in their full pettiness and glory. The language of profound humanity has been coached in themetaphor of sky-watching ever since; the lingo of "theos" (Zeus,Deux) in the Middle Ages simply made what was natural super. Today, in the absence of a language thataffirms finitude and ordinary humanity without deux machina, we relegate our profound awareness of identity andvocation in the clothe of eternity in time. To speak of a wonderful feeling is to relate what is"heavenly". Undifferentiated metaphor and literalism has been the baneof human cognition and articulation. Inthe west, Augustine's "City of God" and "City of Man",recognized the separation, though it is clear that the language of one is alsothe veiled meaning of the other, affirmed in Thomas Aquinas'"natural" and "supernatural" dichotomy. In the late 60s, the Ecumenical Institute of Chicagoreinstated the monastic vows of old and in the triune tradition of theChristian faith, charted the categories of the Journey (Being as theintensification of Knowing and Doing), social consciousness labeled as the corporates(chastity as the intensification of poverty and obedience), and the solitarytrek (contemplation as the intensification of meditation and prayer) thateveryone does. Google the subject and the website wedgeblade.com points to cabinet-full of materials andexplications. Their New Religious Modechart is helpful to those who remain with the Christian faith but is also stuckin the transcendent mode of navel watching directed skyward; often, the humancore is missed. The chart provides a bridge into the secularity of our age. Knowing, Doing, and Being, after all, are notexclusive to the religious. Poverty, Chastity,and Obedience tend to be the language of "absence of" or the"lack of" as the format for western idealistic aims, the pursuit ofan identified goal-but-not-there-yet; the chart also uses such qualifiers of"poverty" as detachment, "obedience" as engagement, and"chastity" as being single-minded about the direction of one's choices. "Meditation" throws one back tosociality, and "prayer" an expression of freedom, with"contemplation" as the sheer mystery of existence, of simply takingin the "way life is". Thechart is understandable seen this way. It is a cool chart, for those who think in threes, withaccompanying 4x4s that further quads the individual subjects. I understand that hundreds of persons of noparticular qualification other than as a "cadre of those who care",as later labeled, worked on this chart one summer research assembly '68 in aformer hospital on Chicago's Westside. Theattempt included intent to breakthrough what was the province of experts andspecialists. Introducing the subject isnot our intent, the metaphor for profound humanity, is. I forsook the metaphors of skyward thinking and itsassumption of an external force that determines fate and destiny, coached inthe language of infinity and "theos" of the Germans garnered from theGreeks pointing to that which is profoundly human, to the wart-and-woof of down-to-earthin the here-and-now as the area that defines human profundity. Even saying it that way seems to sound likeit was something special and extraordinary. No, folks, it is about the common and theordinary. The language of "depth" for what is"profound" is another way of escaping into the other Other Worldoutside of this world. Old escapisthabits are hard to die. "Theos" sits up in the sky and in home altars! An island radio announcer emailed my editor for a copy ofthe Social Process triangle I mentioned in one of my columns. I added a chart of the Ur Images to identifymajor aggrupation of human understandings we used to refer to as philosophies,or god-help-us, metaphysics, "meta" again signifying an escape beyondwhat is ordinary. Well, all of this is ocean wide enough to swim into; itcertainly adds vocabulary to our language metaphors, but it shies away fromfocusing on the depth of the ordinary that comes into being as a matter ofchoice, mine, yours, and others. If wefail to exercise the freedom to choose, someone else will, and that's how weget carried away into trends, fads, and fashions. Inescapably and inevitably, what is profoundly human is thereality that all of us make choices daily, profound and ordinary. When we no longer choose, it means we aredead. Sometimes, we choose to let othersdo the choosing, but we still choose. "Gracias,"to those at the Chicago Research Assembly S '68, but the religious metaphor canno longer hack it. Let's move on. wangzhimu2031 earthrise consciousness, a gift; earthbound commitment, my choice yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today, participate! in all, celebrate! -----Original Message----- From: via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> To: oe <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Thu, Feb 25, 2016 4:49 am Subject: OE Digest, Vol 47, Issue 20 Send OE mailing list submissions to oe@lists.wedgeblade.net To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to oe-request@lists.wedgeblade.net You can reach the person managing the list at oe-owner@lists.wedgeblade.net When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of OE digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: [Dialogue] A message from John Heckman (Doug & Pat Druckenmiller via OE) 2. Fw: Re: FW: Shirley Snelling (Dawn Collins via OE) 3. ICAI Global Buzz Reminder (ICA International via OE) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2016 19:16:21 -0600 From: Doug & Pat Druckenmiller via OE <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> To: David Dunn <dmdunn1@gmail.com>, OE Community <oe@wedgeblade.net>, Dialogue' Listserv <Dialogue@wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] A message from John Heckman Message-ID: <COL403-EAS36740C22827D4F1CA974BB0C5A50@phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Thanks for this news. Sorry for the loss of your mother.?I remember Shirley at a summer program, ?lugging large cases full of then - very edge video equipment. We watched a Russian space vessel lock onto an American one. Soyez, ?I think. It was amazing to be able to see it in, I believe, real time.Now we could watch on our phones. ?What a time she lived in.Doug and Pat Druckenmiller? Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: David Dunn via Dialogue <dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net> Date: 02/22/2016 2:20 PM (GMT-06:00) To: OE Community <oe@wedgeblade.net>, Dialogue' Listserv <Dialogue@wedgeblade.net> Subject: [Dialogue] A message from John Heckman Shirley Snelling?s son, John Heckman sent the following to the EI/OE/ICA colleagues. John and Faith Heckman live in Delta, Colorado.[dd] February 21, 2016 I am attaching an obituary for our mother, Shirley Jackson Snelling.? She died peacefully on February 16 at the age of 87.? There is a memorial service scheduled for her on March 17, 2016 at 7:00 pm at the Park Hill United Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Blvd, Denver CO 80207. There is also a memorial page for Mom at the Ellis Family Services website at?ellisfamilyservices.com?? In lieu of flowers or gifts, we ask that people consider memorial gifts to?the Resource Center for Nonviolence,?rcnv.org, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.? Donations may also be made in her memory to the Park Hill United Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Blvd, Denver, CO 80207. Please feel free to pass Mom's obituary on to anyone who might be interested.? On behalf of the family, ?John Heckman Dr. Shirley Jackson Snelling, born 10/7/1928, died 2/16/2016Dr. Shirley Jackson (Heckman) Snelling of Denver, Colorado, died peacefully on 2/16/2016 at age 87.? Born 10/7/1928 to Gilbert Mansfield Jackson and Imogene Mast Jackson in Roundup, Montana, Shirley was raised in Sheridan Wyoming. ?A precocious child, Shirley graduated at age 16 from high school in Sheridan.? She married Earl Heckman in June, 1949, and the couple moved to Denver, Colorado where the family was very active in the Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren.? ? A firm believer in global citizenship, she helped the Heckman household serve as a SERVAS host for hundreds of international travelers.? SERVAS, from the esperanto word meaning "to serve", is an international hosting organization to promote world peace, goodwill and understanding by providing opportunities for personal contacts among people of different cultures. ?Continually furthering her own education, Shirley was one of two women in the first clas s of Sheridan College when it opened in 1948 then later spoke at their commencement ceremony? as the Sheridan College Distinguished Alumni of? 2000 in May of that year.? She earned her BA degree, a Masters degree in Religious Education from Iliff School of Theology, and her PhD in Education from the University of Denver. ? She was the first woman to instruct at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, heading the Division of History and Social Science and was at that time the only woman, the only Protestant, and the only lay-person on the faculty.? She also taught for two years each at the Iliff School of Theology and Goddard Middle School in Littleton Colorado.From the 1960s onward, Shirley was deeply? engaged with the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), an international service organization.? The Institute's goals were to increase the effectiveness of the church's service to society through a curriculum of religious and cultural studies.? Shirley taught courses, served on committee s, and provided training and planning processes.In 1971, the Heckman family moved to Elgin, IL so that Shirley could take a position as Director of Education, Parish Ministries Commission of the General Board of Church of the Brethren denomination, headquartered in Elgin.? In that role, she was a denominational delegate to the World Council of Churches, created a new educational curriculum, and authored/edited several books.? She was one of only a few women on the national staff at that time and traveled to many places during those years, including Europe, China, and India. ?Leaving her Church of the Brethren position in 1989, Shirley joined the Institute of Cultural Affairs as a full-time staff member. From 1989 to 1992, she worked for the ICA in Nigeria and Cote d?Ivoire writing grant proposals for non-governmental aid organizations, visiting various aid? projects, and serving as the Interim Administrator for the NIRADO rural economic development organization.? In 1992, Sh irley returned to the United States to care for her son Alan during his illness. ? During the 1990s, Shirley? worked for the ICA in Phoenix, AZ as its Resource Development Director.? She married Clarence Snelling, a long-time Denver family friend in September, 2000.? Rather than completely retire, she became president of their condo organization in 2007 and coordinated the creation of a rooftop garden above the condo parking lot. ?She was preceded in death by her parents, 2 sisters (Fay, Helen), 2 brothers (Henry, Ken),? ex-husband Earl Heckman, and son Alan James Heckman.? She is survived by her husband Dr. Clarence H. Snelling Jr, sister Carol Dau, son John Heckman (Faith), daughter Cynthia Heckman-Davis (Ken), daughter Anita Heckman (Jack Nelson), stepson David Snelling (Penny), stepdaughter Claire Nord (Mark), and stepson Ben Snelling. ?She is also survived by many nieces and nephews, 12 grandchildren (Ken Green, Michelle Miller, T. Alan Heckman, Steve Heckman, Jason Carabello, Sean Heckman-Davis, Ann Heckman-Davis, Linnea Nelson, Samantha Nord, Alex No rd, Tobin Snelling, and Branwen Snelling) and 9 great-grandchildren (Amelia Green, Evan Green, Ellie Green, Ryan Miller, Sarah (Ryan) Miller-Frazer, Jordan Miller, Natalie Miller, Oliver Heckman, and Ada Heckman).A loving, though unconventional, wife and mother, Shirley truly enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.? She struggled with alcoholism at times and began having progressive dementia symptoms in 2010. ?Creative and fearlessly independent, Shirley will be remembered? as a woman ahead of her time and as an inspiring role model.? At her best, she was a trailblazer, a strong feminist, a theologian, a teacher, a Christian, an author and an activist.The family deeply appreciates the assistance and care provided at the end of Shirley's life by the Clarebridge Memory Care unit at Brookdale Parkplace in Denver, and by Halcyon Hospice and Palliative Care. They did everything they could to make her as comfortable as possible.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Shirley's memory to the Resource Center for Nonviolence, rcnv.org, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.? Donations can also be made to the Park Hill United Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Blvd., Denver, CO 80207. ? Sent via David David Dunn dmdunn1@gmail.com