The other morning in the entry area to the Dome there was a table set nicely laid out with flowers and note cards that could be written as greetings and support to Ira Goldberg, Julie Anne, and Emo Baer, some older members of the meditating community. It was noted that some of our dedicated and well loved people were at home unwell and these notes and cards would be taken to these folks as support.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : A story that was related earlier in a Fairfield Coffee Haus satsang, an older guy in the meditating community passed away here sometime ago was a German national who by way had come to be part of the meditating community in Fairfield. As a boy he was an orphaned civilian war refugee in Germany and remembered his village being bombed by allied bombers in the war. As he declined with age he was in one of the nursing facilities in Fairfield and cared for by friends who stepped up to attending to him there. As it happens one of the friends who was looking in on him had a dad who was a bomber pilot in the war who, as it turns out, had been in on the bombing of the old meditator’s boyhood village. Towards the end of the old meditator’s life his friends reached out to find his distant family and let them know his whereabouts and circumstance. Turns out he had an adult granddaughter who lives in Sweden. She is professional and has a family of her own in Sweden. On learning of her grandfather she traveled to Fairfield. She arrived too late to meet him but arrived in time for his vedic-like cremation service and memorial locally. She then stayed on longer in Fairfield for some time to learn better from his friends here about his life. As a meditator in his life in Fairfield he was also an active attender with the Mother Divine Church. Sometime after his granddaughter returns home to Sweden she has become engaged to marry her longtime partner. Common law/unmarried parents of families apparently are not uncommon in Sweden and coming to be married can be a big deal in Sweden. In celebration she has invited a couple of her granddad’s caregivers to come expenses paid to Sweden for the wedding to be included as a kind of family representative of her grandfather. Nice story. One of those FF stories. Some folks certainly have come a long ways to be part of this larger meditationist project here in Fairfield, Iowa. # ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : Amalia Bright passed away this morning, 31 Dec. 2016 Hi Friends There will be a LCC Memorial service, life celebration and community potluck Monday (a holiday) January 2nd starting promptly at 1pm for Amalia Spescha Bright. The family of Amalia is very much looking forward to your memories, stories and impressions of Amalia among us as we knew her, her family of choice! Please bring a potluck (sweet or savory) to share for a fellowship time after the service. As there will be no time for getting this to press, please pass it on to folks who you know that know and love Amalia. All blessings, Jennifer Hamilton and Carolyn Duszynski ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : “The trouble is you think you have time…” -Jack Kornfield The Zen Calendar 31 December 2016 ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : James had a beautiful amulet he wore on his chest, of mother divine James had these supportive business women come out in the end, capable powerful mothers divine, his team, who came forward looking out for him. And Meera. He was an early TM teacher in New England. He loved teaching ™, Maharishi and the teaching . and he was good and enthusiastic at it. I am running into people here in FF remembering James, folks who took SCI courses from James saying what a great teacher he was. He apparently taught SCI courses back to back at Livingston Manor for a time and taught some lot of people. Some number of meditators who also went on to become TM teachers in those days. At a point he evidently had rubbed some people a wrong way and he was told he could not teach at all anymore. With something hurt like a PTSD wound it seems he spent the rest of his mortal life in some recovery contextualizing that for himself. That all must have been around the same time frame as Buffy moonie was a numbered enemy of the movement and Charlie Lutes was also left out of things. And some notable others. That time frame when Maharishi went through and squeezed narcissism down in the movement, it was like a wheel of fortune that Maharishi gave it a good spin that threw a bunch of people off, out and away. James stayed always around but was never let in after that. He left Fairfield a few years ago saying he was done with FF around the time of TM ‘ re-certification’ and the badge exclusiveness of the IA assembly. In the end he returned coming to finish with his ‘family of choice’. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : FW: Thank you for sending this message out. I got to know James when I first moved to Fairfield. We did a program of Indian music, poetry, and eurythmy. I will be thinking about James. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : FW: James never had his moment of “..oh poor why me?” He took an inner approach, of working on the cancer, putting attention on it and working on it. He was matter of fact, “ ..we all are going to die, you, I , it is all about god”. In the last few moments there was a type of concentration, he was awake and that alertness came more to as it progressed. This is common, as the awareness opens, as the veil drops, they start to look, casting looking eyes wide open, casting back and forth, unblinking open, transfixed, looking through what was in front, then this energy coming off of him. The only other person feeling that kind of source, the tremendous force like this was Hada (Potts). Godfrey was awake, but the force of the thing happening off of James’ head was almost painful to touch and assess. , With Hada too. Strong like a fire hose. Out the top, the third eye and crown. Phenomenal. These were prepared and cultivated people. Wow. It is such an exciting thing. Thrilling, you can only smile, it is so good. At that time i have no fear, there is no part of me that in anyway wants to hold them back or call them back or detract them, think only of the divine, only god, at that time. I have absolutely no emotion at the time. Everything gets matter of fact, it is just focus on god as an observation. I felt or am allowed to have a taste of the spiritual power of this person, it was breathtaking, really breathtaking, and it took his breath away too. And then the interview between what looks like the last breath and the heart beating usually is short. With James this went on and on. Standing between, I am measuring in sense of time the body working, but the soul, the jivan has this time of final incarnational life is there. What impression that is being made in the jivan, this personality, and this moving into this light body is made. Some incredible transcendent is happening, a suspension of time, there is not breath there, some expansion is there, and yet this expansion is happening. That is the last moksha to shed the illusion, all the story, giving the jivan the opportunity to be in both worlds, all dimensions, the inner life beyond time and space. Once the heart stops, because to the change in this is this tower of power out his head, right here, when the heart stops this narrows down, the chakras are done (pinning the jivan to the body) and they wind down. The energy shifts, their job is complete and then there is the phenomenal silence. There is nothing more silent than a dead body, so silent , inert, utterly silent. That it happens at all that we incarnate at all is a miracle that we can get our minds around, that we live it in, that we get around in this body, All that we learn, all the intelligence we are all, the story of all of it the connected story fades. It is like the Christmas tree loaded with all this glory and then you turn out the lights, it doesn’t carry any memory and then you turn out the lights. No sorrow. How could one weep in the force of this, it all fades away and you go back to the fullness of the divine, the love. He had a little written sign in his room, “it is all about god, see you soon”. The heart is humble, mental is arrogance. He was a very bright person thinking deeply and subtly about things in a large and vital mental life that was developed, the beauty in the last weeks where his mental function became more compromised this heart thing of simplicity, gratitude, the force of humility and tenderness and his willingness to show it was breathtakingly beautiful. Holding their hands, kissing their hands saying “you know how special you are”. It was saintly, it was everybody. Telling, “I feel something really beautiful about people”. That was a fruition of the heart on fast track. The ability and then the willingness to be innocently openly loving. There was nothing affected about it ,of just a kindness , it was genuine expression of appreciation that he was perceiving of the intimate goodness of people, in people. Even in moment of his body hurt , great physical suffering, and he would get relief from the distraction of the body, he would grasp people’s hand and thank them and tell them, that was the default. Without our modern pain drugs in the end we leave with the terror of death, horrific death. Painful. Here now we can blunt that. Awareness is not something that we ‘do’, removing the distraction of the body then the awareness is undimmed. If one spends a lifetime exploring this subtle aspect life and you sustain that in spite of the body, what a (modern) blessing. Yes, the body has all these subtle aspects in it, stars and planets and such, but James was on an accelerated course of the heart nature of our being. He literally lit up the place, that hospital, that nursing home, even when wildly hurting and the horrific discomfort of the body. But he would come out in this incredible,, and they would say “what a lovely person”, Elevated. -Jennifer # ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : FW: Dear friends, We will celebrate James' life this Friday, December 16th at 2pm at Behner's Funeral Home at 203 N Main St in Fairfield. Please bring a few flowers if easy to share in the ceremony. The service will be followed by a reception at the home of Catherine Castle. .. a good friend of James, shared this beautiful tribute: 'Under a full moon and the starkness of winter, my long time friend William 'James' Duke left this earthly abode yesterday. I first met James in 1990, on the Ammachi tour in Pacific Palisades, Ca. And he was the first person I ever came to visit in Iowa; now I've been here 20 years. Along with his wife Lea, we shared the richness of getting to know the very wise and saintly Amma, during our formative years. It was an exciting time and because of it, he will always be etched in my heart. James was very independent and had a pioneering spirit that is matched by few. He took this Self-Realization business very seriously being involved with the TM movement, Ammachi, and Mother Meera in his more recent years. He was an enigma to many people, capable of being somewhat cantankerous one moment but then very charming and gregarious the next. We shared some great moments together on the trail of life and he will be surely missed. Spread your wings my brother and fly free!' <3 Looking forward to being together With love ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : FW: Our friend and teacher passed yesterday, on the December 13th, 2016 super full moon, in peace and waves of Divine Love. All glory to the Spirit and Truth he dedicated his life to, and the magnificent way he kept teaching and inspiring his whole life, and especially with great courage these last months. Our connection was a shared appreciation of Spirit and love for the brave, independent state of Vermont. In gratitude and love, Rebecca ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony...@yahoo.com> wrote : Thanks, I appreciate your enthusiasm for good health. This is one of these fast onset/growing brain tumors that are becoming more common. On this waxing moon Jim is going to be out of here pretty quick, probably this evening. I'll miss him once he is gone on. I am going to go down to the FF square now and open the door to the no-badge group meditation and then go over to meditate with him. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <jr_...@yahoo.com> wrote : I agree that having friends and good social life can help a person in terms of longevity and good mental health e.g. Kurt Douglas who just celebrated his 100th birthday. But your friend's problem could be solved by a simple solution like eating habits, diet and yoga or tai chi--in addition to meditation and sound therapy. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : I don’t know in particular but often in the Fairfield meditating community when someone has health troubles and they let people know what is going on there can be quite a lot of support that comes out of the community. This is an incredible thing to be in front of, that shining attention of this community for all the kinds of help that can come out from the meditating community. James has a good team of friends with him that way. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <jr_esq@...> wrote : Has your friend tried TM's sound therapy to eliminate the tumor? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : James’ brain tumor conflicted with Parkinsons is fast changing and he was moved by his primary overseeing caretakers recently over to a hospice-specific facility in Ottumwa that evidently is better staffed with nurses, evidently nicer, better integrated with attending physicians and more proactively set up to be reactive to changing circumstance in hospice care than what local skilled nursing facilities (SNF) could provide. Different hospice services can respond at different rates to a fluidity that can happen in the end. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : Caring, FW: very sweet visit with James (last week). James continues to be pain free and comfortable with his room at Parkview. As you know from your calls and visits, he is in a very conscious state of divine grace and gratitude. He sees our calls and visits as a gift to him and yet I think it's the reverse. We leave those calls or visits feeling loved, cherished and blessed by our time with him.This Sunday, at Parkview there is a special potluck holiday lunch for friends and family from 11-1 It would be fun to have a 'celebrate James' table filled with friends. If you're in Fairfield and can come, even for a little, could you let Marsha know. And whoever sent him the fruit basket, he loves and appreciates it. It was a wonderful surprise but there was no card, so he can't thank you! ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : Both these recent cases with these elders in the Fairfield meditating community, friends and folks immediately came out of the community to help. Real quick in the assessment of circumstance that sent these cases to the emergency rooms at hospitals as friends and then some family arrived the questions arose as to who has medical power of attorney for them in either case and then who might be power of attorney for their welfare. It was not clear in either case initially. They both are troubled with things enough that it is being worked out for them with them. That does not always or necessarily happen in these kinds of circumstance. We have a pretty good attending community this way in the Fairfield meditating community. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : James' 3 hour biopsy surgery: brain tumor, 4th stage. James' nature state of bliss and kindness and exclamations with everyone given what in context is terminal is confusing to some folks there at the U. of Ia hospitals. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : Hi Friends Amalia is recovering from a bad fall at her home. She is at Jefferson County Hospital and would appreciate visitors! Just check in with the nursing station first. All blessings, [ She has since been moved to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Keosauqua, by-passing the SNF's in Fairfield. ] ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : FW: Dear friends, I think everyone who has talked to or been with James (Bill) the last few days would agree that it's been very special. He radiates love and happiness and declares repeatedly 'God, God, it's all God and don't you forget it!' Whether it's afriend he's known for decades, the nurse arriving to take blood or the man serving him his food, he's expressing his love of God and blessing everyone and they respond with appreciation. He really loves all the calls he's received, they've really meant alot to him. Cody, the therapy dog, visited James today and they became immediate friends. (See pic) James' 3 hour biopsy surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, at 12:20 pm - will keep you updated With love ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : Your prayers and healing attention appreciated for our friend, James…
