Always I want to place at the top of my list of acknowledg-ments That Which Is All Things, and which is the Source of all things, including this book. Some of you choose to call that God, as do I, yet it matters not what name you give The Source. It was, is, and always will be The Source Forever, and even forever more.
Second, I want to acknowledge that I had wonderful par-ents, through whom God’s sourcing of life itself, and so many of my life’s most important rememberings, flowed. Taken together, my Mom and Dad were a terrific team. Not every-body who looked on from the sidelines may have agreed, but the two of them were very clear about that. They called each other “Pest” and “Poison.” Mom said Dad was a “pest,” and Dad said Mom was a “poison” he could not resist.
My mother, Anne, was an extraordinary person; a woman of endless compassion2, of deep understanding, of quiet and unending forgiveness, of seemingly limitless giving, of ongoing3 patience, of soft wisdom, and of an abiding4 faith in God so strong that, moments before her death, the new, young priest who had administered to her the final rites5 of the Roman Catholic Church (and who was clearly nervous) came to me from her bedside trembling with admiration6. “My God,” he whispered, “she was comforting me.”
It is the highest tribute to Mom to say that I wasn’t surprised by that.
My father, Alex, had few of the graces of gentler beings. He was blustery, gruff, he could be embarrassingly abrasive7, and there are those who say he was often cruel, particularly to my mother. I am not willing to judge him for that (or anything else). My mother refused to judge or condemn8 him (quite to the contrary, praising him even with her last words), and I cannot imagine how it serves me to ignore her clear example by sinking beneath it.
Besides, Dad had a huge pile of enormously positive traits, traits of which my Mother never lost sight. These included an unwav-ering belief in the indomitability of the human spirit, and a deep clarity that conditions which needed to be changed were not changed by complaining about them, but by leadership. He taught me that I could do anything I set my mind to. He was a man upon whom his wife and family could, and did, depend until the very end. He was the absolute embodiment of loyalty9, of never being a fence-sitter, but always taking a stand, of refusing to take no for an answer from a world which defeated so many others. His mantra in the face of even the most overwhelming odds10 was, “Ah, there’s nothing to it.” I used that mantra in every challenging time of my life. It worked every time.
It is the highest tribute to Dad to say that I wasn’t surprised by that.
Between the two of them, I felt challenged and called to a place of supreme11 confidence in myself, and unconditional12 love for everyone else. What a combo!
In my previous book I acknowledged some other members of my family and circle of friends who’ve made an enormous contribution to my life—and still do. I want to include now two special people who have come into my life since the first book was written, and have made an extraordinary impact on me:
Dr. Leo and Mrs. Letha Bush ... who have demonstrated to me with their daily lives that in moments of selfless caring for family and loved ones, of concern for friends, of kindness to those in need, of hospitality to all, and of abiding faith and love in and for each other, will be found life’s richest rewards. I am instructed by them, and deeply inspired.
Also in this space I wish to acknowledge some of my other teachers, special angels sent to me by God to bring me a particular message which I am now clear it was important for me to hear. Some of them touched me personally, some from a distance, and some from a point on the Matrix so far away that they don’t even know (at a conscious level) I exist. Still, their energy has been received here, in my soul. These include other philosophers, leaders, opinion makers13, writers and co-travelers on The Path whose contributions through the years to the Collective Consciousness have helped create a treasury14 of wisdom which comes from, and therefore constitutes, the Mind of God. It is from this Source that I know the CWG material has come. I see again as I dedicate Book 2 in this trilogy that this work is a culmination15 of everything I have ever known, been told, found myself exposed to, or understood before, brought to a new level of accessibility through the device of this latest in a lifelong series of conversations I have had with God, in many forms. In truth, there are no new ideas in the universe, merely restatements of Eternal Truth.
In addition to this general thanks to all of my teachers, I wish to acknowledge the following particular individuals for their gifts to my life:
Ken1 Keyes, Jr...whose insights touched thousands of lives (including my own). He has now returned Home, having been a sterling17 messenger.
Dr. Robert Muller...whose work on behalf of world peace has blessed us all, and inspired this planet with new hope and a spectacular vision for over half a century.
Dolly Parton...whose music and smile and whole person-hood has blessed a nation, and gladdened my heart so often—even when it was broken and I was sure it couldn’t be gladdened anymore. Now there’s a special magic.
Terry Cole-Whittaker...whose wit and wisdom and insight and joy in life and absolute honesty have stood for me as both an example and a measurement since the day I met her. Thousands have been enlarged, enhanced and enlivened by her.
Neil Diamond...who has reached into the depth of his soul for his artistry, and so has reached into the depth of mine, and touched the soul of a generation. His talent, and the emotional generosity18 with which he has shared it, is monumental.
Thea Alexander...who has dared through her writing to shake me awake to the possibility of expressing human affection without limitation, without hurtfulness, without hidden agendas, without bitter jealousies19, and without needfulness or expectations. She has reignited in the world the restless spirit of boundless20 love and our most natural desire for sexual celebration, making it wondrous21 and beautiful and innocently pure again.
Robert Rimmer.. .who has done exactly the same.
Warren Spahn...who taught me that reaching excellence22 in any area of life means setting the highest standards, and refusing to fall back from them; asking the most of oneself, even when accepting the least would hardly be noticed (perhaps, especially then). A sports hero of the first magnitude, a hero on the battlefield under fire, and a life hero who has never wavered in his commit-ment to excel, no matter how much work it took to do that.
Jimmy Carter...who courageously23 insists on playing interna-tional politics by not playing politics, but coming from his heart, and from what he knows under the Highest Law is right. A breath of air so fresh, this stale world has hardly known what to do with it.
Shirley MacLaine...who has demonstrated that intellect and entertainment are not mutually exclusive; that we can rise above the base and the banal24 and the lowest common denomi-nator. She insists that we can talk about larger things as well as small; heavier things as well as light; deeper things as well as shallow. She’s struggling to raise the level of our discourse25, and so, of our consciousness; to use constructively26 her enormous influence on the marketplace of ideas.
Oprah Winfrey...who is doing exactly the same.
Steven Spielberg...who is doing exactly the same.
George Lucas...who is doing exactly the same.
Ron Howard...who is doing exactly the same.
Hugh Downs...who is doing exactly the same.
And Gene16 Roddenberry...whose Spirit can hear this now, and is smiling...because he led the way in so much of this; took the gamble; stepped to the edge; went, in truth, where no one had gone before.
These people are treasures, as are we all. Unlike some of us, however, they have chosen to give from their treasury of Self on a massive scale; to put themselves out there in a huge way; to risk all of it, to lose their privacy and throw their personal world into upheaval27 forever, in order to give of who they truly are. They have not even known whether the gift they had to give would be received. Still, they gave it.
I acknowledge them for that. Thank you all. My life has been made richer by you.
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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ongoing
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| adj.进行中的，前进的 | |
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abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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abrasive
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| adj.使表面磨损的；粗糙的；恼人的 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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unconditional
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| adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的 | |
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makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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culmination
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| n.顶点；最高潮 | |
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gene
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| n.遗传因子，基因 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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courageously
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| ad.勇敢地，无畏地 | |
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banal
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| adj.陈腐的，平庸的 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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constructively
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| ad.有益的，积极的 | |
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upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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