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Scent of Light Episode
by Ken Norton
Being
Earth Day's 50th Anniversary
Broadcast on April 26, 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
Being.
This week we have been celebrating the 50th
anniversary of Earth day. Because of the need to reduce our contact with one
another during the Coronavirus pandemic physical assemblies of people have
been curtailed, however many internet meetings have been arranged to keep
the enthusiasm for meaningful Climate Action alive for lobbying our
political representatives to develop effective policies. The virus has
scared humans enough that human industrial and travelling activities have
been greatly reduced, that has resulted in an almost immediate cleansing of
the skies. Even in population dense India one can see the Himalayas again.
The natural action of Nature to reach a stable state and correct imbalances
is in play, and we humans can now directly see, test and smell the
difference. It will be more on the mind of people around the world that a
big change is needed.
The 2018 election in the USA brought forth new
Congressional representatives who pushed and passed the resolution for a New
Green Deal for a just and healthy policies for Climate Action. The
mightiness of Nature has an humbling effect, even with our corporate
endeavors. We need to give greater heed to the laws governing our cosmos and
seek to act in harmony with them.
My mentor, Professor William Hermanns, was a poet and
mystic, who taught me that we are not alien to this planet but a conversing
part of it, conversing with all aspects and species of Nature. His
friendship with Albert Einstein influenced him to recognize what Einstein
called Cosmic Religious Feeling. It caused my mentor to prioritize this
feeling over the role of the priesthood and their rituals in spiritual
guidance. Paramahansa Yogananda taught my mentor how to meditate and become
attuned to subtle intuitive guidance in a month long workshop at Yogananda’s
Self-Realization Fellowship at Mount Washington in Los Angeles. The life of
St. Francis of Assisi influenced my mentor with his mystic relationship with
Nature with whom he was conversant, even with understanding the needs of a
wolf that was upsetting a village .
I was living with William Hermanns as his assistant
for three years when he wrote this poem on Being. He was 78 years old and
treated each day as a precious gift of life, which has left a lasting
impression on my soul. I will share it with you now.
Being
by William Hermanns
I am the wind that grinds the waves to foam,
blends it with rays to feed the sparkle
to my whales and dolphins.
Some bits of foam I throw onto the beach
to pat the soles of feet.
I am the flower whispering to grass and tree,
"Let us dot the air with golden honey scent
and watch the bees and butterflies."
Oh, how they drink the sweetened air
and smile at us, their friend!
I am the beam that, when the cock crows, rises
and laps from mother sun the warmth I need
to travel and give light.
And when the night builds nests, I, too, take rest,
sleep in the heart of you and me.
I am the child that draws its sparkling breath
from lips of love. I build my golden castle
where earth and heavens meet.
The night hands me a ladder made of moon-lit clouds,
and I climb up to claim my golden wings.
I am the spirit breathing atoms into my creation.
They spin a million Milky Ways around
and whirl your thought and feeling.
I fill the cosmic ocean with your being—
before you are, I am.
.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 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. r />
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.
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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
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