Click image to be directed to the most recent
episode and for the List of the Scent of Light episodes in the Archive
(Photo by Kenneth E. Norton)
Scent of Light Episode
by Ken Norton
Choice
Broadcast on July 12, 2020
Mp3 Player
The audio file above is the spoken word recording
without background music provided to Radio KOWS 92.5 FM broadcast of the
Scent of Light episode for insert into the Radio Spotlight Magazine
with host Andre Marc.
In this episode on the Scent of Light I will speak on
Choice.
Choice is our fundamental freedom. We learn to choose
as a baby, first out of physical needs for nourishment and calling attention
to discomforts, like an overdue diaper change. Our range of choices greatly
expands as we grow into adults, as does our perceived and subconscious
needs. Our intellect is enabled to make calculated choices for attaining a
future outcome. In this calculation there are besides facts also biases we
have accepted as our own through those passed on by our family and those
picked up through the daily influence of the media and the public discussion
or reactions stimulated by the media outlets.
As young adults in our 20s
and 30s we can and do make quick choices, some of which are good for us and
some we wish we could go back and change that choice. We realize through
life's lessons that our choices carry consequences and that making decisions
can be risky. Even when all the numbers and facts seem to line up, there is
still that uncertainty of reaching one's intended goal.
I was fortunate as a student
to have met a retired university professor who shared with me how he made
choices in his life, 50 years older than me. We met as the War in Vietnam
was raging and I was active in protesting the War. The years of carrying a
draft card in my wallet had sparked my conscience to enliven my imagination
of being in battle scenarios in which I would be ordered to kill or would do
so on my own in a fearful situation with a supposed enemy.
My mentor shared the story
of his choosing to volunteer for the army to save Germany and march
victoriously with his Kaiser through the enemy France's Arc de Triomph. He
began regretting this choice as he witnessed the basest in men expressed in
rude and selfish ways among the troops. In a trench before the walked city
of Verdun in 1916 a bomb buried him up to his waist. Not knowing if he had
legs anymore, he stretched his hand to the sky and screamed, “God, save me,
and I will serve as long as I live!”1 He was
able to dig himself out, discovered his legs to be whole, and in 24 hours
witnessed a feeling of being guided, whether running from shell hole to
shell hole avoiding the hail of missiles, or even in his capture by French
Senegalese soldiers who spared him because he could speak French, only
shortly later to be instrumental in saving 200 fellow German soldiers lives
being threatened with mustard gas in an underground fortress. I would assist
my mentor for 19 years in his writings, and every day he repeated this vow
made on the battlefield. It became his north star.
In 1985, in his 90th year, Dr.
William Hermanns wrote the following poem.
I am a living prayer.
I am the Creator's tool:
my new profession on earth.
Too long TV's soothsayer
made me a mass-mind fool
of three-dimensional worth.
The Communists we hate,
the terrorists hate us.
Can children still have hope?
We need our ships and trade.
The Russians make red fuss.
Will soon our gold elope?
Can matter curse? The stars above
feed aeons with their crystal light.
And we feed war. The Cosmic Law
will doom us to despair and night.
Political intelligence
will set our planet home ablaze.
Salvation comes through intuition,
man's only gift of Cosmic Grace.
Intuition speaks, "Come East and West,
stop earth's apocalyptic pregnancy!
Stop atom's ego with its boast,
"I am the One, I am He."
I hope this encourages you
to be reflective in your choices so that intuition can be your ally.
This is Ken Norton on the
Scent Of Light. You can contact me via Ken at KennethENorton.com and I would
be glad to hear from you. The Scent of Light episodes are archived on the
web together with links referenced here at kennethenorton.com. Thanks for listening.
Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford
University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the
personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared
his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also
the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and
conscionable choices.
Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes
on the Scent of Light.
Ken Norton in practice of Tai Chi Chuan
2018 Photo by Elaine B. Holtz
I co-produce Women's Spaces Show with my loving partner and its host
Elaine B. Holtz. Take a visit. All the shows are archived on the website.
----
I am the Trustee and Archivist. Visit the website I built in honor of my
mentor.
----
Be still and know,
We're in the flow
Of Love to grow
From seeds we sow.*
Kenneth E. Norton
* stanza from his poem Intuition's Joy
Click image above to return to the top of the home page.
Click image above to be
directed to the List of the Scent of Light Shows in the Archives.
