To the Reader:

I heard this young lady speak at the USCC Youth Spring Festival May 21, 2016. The moment she said her first words, she held the audience spell bound.

Her message can apply to just about every Religion and or Church as there are difficulties for Youth to understand what the Adult has accepted over the years. Sometimes without questioning in the way Natasha has.

She travelled many paths to come to these conclusions.

One has to read carefully and think about what she says in this speech.

by Natasha Jmieff

Hi everyone. My name is Natasha Jmieff, and I’m going to talk to you about my perspective on the Doukhobor life concept. Over the years, I’ve read a lot of history and done a lot of soul-searching—I’ll tell you about some of that in a minute—and I’ve come up with five ideas that I think are at the core of this culture. They’re ideas that Doukhobors have lived by for the last two hundred years, but that doesn’t make them outdated—in fact, it makes them more necessary than ever, and some of them are becoming mainstream and being talked about everywhere.
So, here are the five ideas:
We are all part of God.
We honour the spirit of God in each other.
We are pacifists.
We are communitarians.
Together, we can change the world.
Before I go on to explain these ideas, I want to tell you about my own spiritual journey, and how I came to be standing here on stage today. As glad as I am to have all of you for an audience, in some ways, this speech is meant to reach the people who aren’t here, who aren’t participating—because for years, I was one of them.
In 1975, the year I was born, my parents joined the Slocan Valley Choir—which you’ll see behind me as soon as the curtain opens. I grew up going to choir with them, sitting on a little carpet in the corner of Slocan Park hall with my toys and colouring books, or else playing—and fighting a little—with the other kids outside.
I hated it. I resented so many things about growing up in the USCC, and I used to complain about it. “Mom, my platok is itchy. Why do I have to wear it at all? Dad, why do we always go to prayer meetings on Sundays? Can’t I stay home and watch TV?” I whined a lot. I don’t know how my loving parents put up with me. But I did what they said because I was a kid and, well, I didn’t have a choice.
But underneath the whining and childish resistance, a much deeper resistance—a kind of rebellion—was happening. As I grew up, I distanced myself more and more from the culture, inside.
Although my parents encouraged me to speak Russian at home, most of the time I spoke and thought in English. None of the songs we sang in Sunday school made sense to me, and we never discussed or tried to understand their meanings. What I absorbed from my family and the culture around me was a sense of anxiety, of always being judged—by the people around me and by God. I absorbed a sense of being burdened by duty and obligation to the community and its leaders. Of constant guilt and inadequacy, and a sense of suffering that our people almost rejoiced in, as if suffering made a person righteous.
I know this isn’t what many of you want to hear, but it was my experience. I didn’t want to be a Doukhobor.
At the same time, I was on a spiritual journey. I was looking for something, though I didn’t know what.
When I was eighteen, I moved to Vancouver to go to UBC. I was a shy, sheltered girl from “the valley,” but I thrived at university. I absorbed new ideas, new ways of living, and tried them out in my own life. Whatever inspired me, whatever opened me up, I followed—it didn’t matter which religion or culture it came from.
For a while I tried being an atheist, but it didn’t work for me. My heart had faith—and longed for—a connection with something or someone much larger than me, a presence I couldn’t see, but somehow knew was there—awake, alive, all the time, everywhere.
I really liked Buddhism. A Zen master came to one of my lectures once. He made two hundred of us sit still for ten minutes without talking. We were supposed to watch our breath come in and out and keep our minds still. It felt impossible. But I remembered that moment.
And later, I learned how to meditate with this same teacher—Eshin Godfrey—at the Vancouver Zen Centre. We sat on black cushions on the floor, for half an hour at a time, and got up between sessions to walk slowly around the room and chant in Japanese. The practice was strange to me, and difficult to do, but during the brief time I spent going to Zen Centre, something opened in me. One day, my mind settled down and a beautiful clarity arose. I could hear a robin chirping in a tree outside, and the skytrain rattling by—we were near a station—and everything I thought or worried about disappeared. For a minute there was just clarity, presence and peace.
The Zen master was the happiest person I had ever met—he radiated happiness—and I wanted what he had.
But the spiritual journey moves at its own pace, in its own way. Soon after that beautiful opening, I left Vancouver. I graduated from UBC with a degree in English and, instead of staying in the city, I moved home—back to the valley, back to the heart of this culture I’d been avoiding for years.
I’m going to read you a passage by the native American writer Linda Hogan that explains what drew me back toward Doukhoborism. In her memoir, The Woman Who Watched Over the World, she writes: “My tribal identity has always been chasing after me, to keep its claims on my body and heart. I can’t escape from my culture and be whole and real.”
The spiritual journey is a journey toward wholeness and union—but to arrive at that wholeness, we have to do the work—the work of dissolving and healing whatever keeps us feeling separate, contracted, afraid. It’s not easy. It’s gritty, difficult work to face those parts of ourselves.
But after that moment of clarity at the Zen Centre, that’s exactly what I came back to the Kootenays to do—though I didn’t know it at the time.
For ten or fifteen years, I moved toward Doukhoborism, then away. I sang with my parents’ choir for a year or two—then took up dancing with Sufis. I read books on Doukhobor history—then learned how to invoke the spirits of the four directions. I tried working for Iskra—but found myself in a sweat lodge, crammed in the dark and heat with thirty other people. We were all speaking our prayers out loud to the Great Spirit, and I found myself saying: “Please Great Spirit, heal my culture, heal my people.”
I’d never thought of them as “my people” before: the generations of suffering Doukhobors whose pain, sorrow and trauma I had inherited, and was working to heal in myself.
Dear elders, I’m telling you this story because I want you to understand the world your young people live in. This world is open to them. There are a million faiths, and a million paths to wholeness. The spiritual journey is a very individual one, and I believe that if a person is engaged in it, in whatever way, he or she is a spirit wrestler.
That being said, we all need to belong somewhere. We are individuals, each on our own journey through life, but we all need community—the support of other people—to help us on this journey. Right now, the Doukhobor community, what remains of it, is disintegrating. Once the current generation of elders—you beautiful, hard-working people who have done your best for us—once this generation is gone, the particular spiritual path we call Doukhoborism will end. Unless we—and here I’m speaking to people my age and younger, both those who are here and those who are not—unless we do something to renew it.
I don’t know what, exactly, but I have a few ideas. Maybe others of you do too. Maybe some of you, like me, have left the community, but something tugs at you to come back again. I’m here today because I believe that, despite its flaws and dysfunctions, Doukhobor culture, Doukhobor faith, is worth preserving and renewing.
In a letter he wrote to Peter Verigin “Hospodniy,” novelist Leo Tolstoy called the Doukhobors “people of the 25th century.” In eighteenth and nineteenth century Russia, the ideas Doukhobors lived by were heretical—they didn’t belong. But today, many of these ideas are becoming widespread. All over the world, people are waking up—their spirits are waking up—to the very truths our Doukhobor ancestors lived—and died—for.
This brings me back to the five ideas I mentioned at the beginning. I call them Five Ideas the Doukhobors Had That Could Change the World.
1. The wise, awake, loving and all-embracing presence we call God lives inside each person. Its guidance is available to all of us, all the time—all we need to do is ask, and listen.
In other words: We are all part of God.
2. All human hierarchies, divisions and castes are illusions. So are the religious and national boundaries that people fight and die for. Our ancestors believed in a kind of radical equality—that all people are equal, and all of us equally have access to divine wisdom—if we choose to live by it.
In other words: We honour the spirit of God in each other.
3. When we live by divine wisdom, we create a space for peace in our lives, and we start to see how much harm is done by acts of force or violence. Violence arises from fear and ignorance, and is dissipated by their opposites—love and understanding. When we begin to generate love and understanding inside ourselves, we turn away from violence, and toward peace.
In other words: We are pacifists.
4. If all people are equal, everyone matters. Our ancestors believed it was possible for people to live together in community, sharing their resources and labour so that everyone would benefit. This particular idea goes against the mainstream of consumer culture today, but more and more people are realizing the benefits of making do with less and sharing what they have.
In other words: We are communitarians.
5. If we align ourselves, and our community, with the flow of divine wisdom, and allow that wisdom to work through us, we can accomplish great things. I think of the faith that allowed the Doukhobors to resist forced conscription, to survive prison and exile, to migrate to a new country and pioneer on the prairies and in BC—all the things they were able to accomplish because of their faith, and their unity.
Today, we have different issues to tackle, and different goals, but still:
Working together, we can change the world.
So, let me repeat one more time what the Doukhobor life concept means to me:
We are all part of God.
We honour the spirit of God in each other.
We are pacifists.
We are communitarians.
Together, we can change the world.
Thank you very much for your attention and your time today. And my thanks to the people behind me, my parents and the other choir members, for your dedication to your culture and community for so many years. Bless you all.

The above speech was given as part of the performance of the Slocan Valley Choir at the USCC Union of Youth Festival in May, 2016
copyright Natasha Jmieff, 2016

Natasha
I have a blog and I would be honored if I could post it on my blog along with some appropriate remarks
I just think that it is a great story of a young Doukhobor growing up
Elmer

Hi Elmer,
That would be fine. The more people who have access to its message, the better. 🙂
Copyright remains with me.
Have a great day.
Natasha

Posted by Elmer Verigin June 27, 2016, 1010 hours

I have a video that I am trying to post here but I am having a real challenge performing this task on Windows 10.

Bear with me, I will work it out

Elmer

As I mediated for a short time the other day, I thought about large colonies who find that they can live peacefully side by side without aggression. Yes I was thinking about Ants and the Bees.

Most young people and later as the age, are fascinated by these tiny inhabitants of this planet Earth and can watch them do their thing:

• Always busy
• Always working
• Building their nests or hills
• There does not seem any conflict
• They respect each others territory
• No audible complaining
• Never getting in each other’s way

I have not witnessed them in a struggle for food nor a need to chase other colonies and take over.

We have all seen an Ant Worker, carrying food that would be the equivalent to me carrying a hundred (100) pound sack of potatoes. As I have watched, I noticed that that effort is always toward the Hill to be shared by all. I stop and let my mind wander:

1. Unconditional dedication to a job
2. No union benefits
3. No work stoppages for trade jurisdiction
4. No apparent concern for seniors care in retirement
5. No pollution
6. No meetings

How does their understanding along with their natural instincts permit them to achieve what we humans cannot?

Is there a message here?

What am I missing as I am not an Entomologist?

Elmer Verigin, looking out my window at the Columbia River and the mountains to the East and beyond

Saturday, June 11, 2016.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE May 25, 2016

I first met Alex when I delivered windows to his new house in Winlaw, many years ago. I have to admit that he impressed me as a straight forward gentleman and our business transaction was very positive..

I later learned that he was:

1. Member of the Kootenay Mens Choir to which I will speak more on tomorrow but I need to mention now:
   1. President
   2. Choir Director
   3. Popular Master of Ceremonies. Many of his stories were a bit embellished and sometimes included Annette to her surprise. He was definitely the popular and anticipated person in:
      1. Trail Rotary Carol Festival
      2. Castlegar Christmas Carol at the Pentecostal Church
      3. Nurses fund-raiser to Guatemala
      4. Seniors Residences
         1. He always had new stories and original jokes that were a bit colored but acceptable. He was our Bob Hope, Red Skeleton and had everyone laughing just as he walked up to the microphone and even before he said anything
         2. Actor when he put on that red dress and was the female conscience of a young man working away from home that wanted to return with him to meet his wife in the song he led.
2. Many times he referred to me as “that guy from Saskatchewan” even though I had lived in B.C. since 1963. Somehow, he would include me in his jokes but that has been the story of my life.
3. Member of the Tri-Choir and travelled to Veregin Saskatchewan to celebrate the provincial 100 year Centennial. He met relatives in Canora to which I became a carrier of Paklunee in both directions
4. Building Committee President of the Kootenay Columbia Seniors Housing Cooperative where he became the designer of the 47 seniors friendly units at Grandview and lived in a bungalow there with Annette right to his passing. We would see Alex riding his bicycle or cross-country skiing to prove he was an active senior. The irrigation system became his interest and for a few years our irrigation was unmatched in operation.
5. I understand that he loved playing ball and coached as well
6. In Curling, there are many echelons of success but not many of us go to the World Championships and so Alex did not achieve that.
   1. Scoring an Eight-Ender (which means every rock on your rink stays to count will get you a badge from the Canadian Curling Association). Alex achieved that
7. In Golf, a Hole-In-One is considered to be a level that is almost as good as winning a major golf tournament. (call Pat Milne at Castlegar Golf Club (CCC)). Scored 76 on his 76th Birthday. Seeing as how 72 is par for professionals, that is a good score. The joke from CCC was that “Alex never showed his wallet except when he had to make change.”
   1. Alex is a medal holder from the British Columbia Seniors Games
8. Alex enjoyed stories about Electricians woulod bring a smile to his face:
   1. A Chemist, a Biologist and an Electrician had all been sentenced to death and were on death row waiting to go to the electric chair. Finally, the day had arrived.The chemist was due to go first. As he strapped him in, the Executioner asked him, “Do you have anything you want to say?”The Chemist replied, “No,” so the Executioner flicked the switch but nothing happened.According to this State’s law, if an execution attempt fails, the prisoner has to be released. So the Chemist was unstrapped and allowed to walk free.It was the Biologist’s turn next. As he was being strapped in, the Executioner asked him, “Do you have anything you want to say?”The Biologist replied, “No, just get on with it” so the Executioner flicked the switch, but once again nothing happened. So, just like the Chemist, the Biologist was released.Then the Electrician was brought forward. The Executioner asked him, “Do you have anything you want to say?”The Electrician replied, “Yes. If you swap the red and the blue wires over, you might just make this thing work.”
   2. What do you call a Russian Electrician? Switchitonov!
   3. Never trust an Electrician with no eyebrows.
   4. Paddy was talking to two of his friends at work. His first friend confided to the other two “I think my wife is having an affair with an Electrician. The other day I came home and found Wire-Cutters under our bed and they were not mine.”The second friend then also confided, “Me too! I think my wife is having an affair with a Plumber. The other day I found a wrench under the bed and it wasn’t mine.”Paddy thinks for a minute then says “Well I think my wife is having an affair with a horse.” Both friends look at him in complete disbelief. Paddy sees them looking at him and says “No seriously, the other day I came home early and found a Jockey under our bed.”

:Posted by E Verigin May 27, 2016

Those of you who have grown up in families, where everything was “fixable”, know that no tool kit is complete without at least two different sizes of Side-cutters. If you do not know what this tool looks like ask your student offspring who may be taking “shop” in high school or ask you neighbor who maybe a “handyman”.

I opened the top drawer in our Master Bedroom Bathroom the other day and there looking at me was a small set of Side-Cutters with a rubber band securing the two sides and marked “For Toes”.

I knew that I did not put them there and I suspected that our neighbor Donna (who has been blamed for leaving lights on and taps running around our place) would never do such a dastardly thing, and so I had to humbly ask my “wifey”, “like where did these things drop out of”.

It kills us husbands when our wives put that “knowing look” on their face and answer, “did you try them yet?”

“For toes?” I exclaimed, “you have to be joking!”

“One of these days, you will try it”, and she carried on with whatever women do in the kitchen.

Well I have this toe that has been attacked by those guys that just continue to multiply under the toenail and make it expand to a grotesque and ugly size. Well I don’t wear clogs nor sandals and, had I listened to my deceased neighbor Harry Jukes, I would have walked around barefoot which NeuroScientists suggest would have been much better for us in many ways, including our balance. Probably that may have taken away the “lab” where the fungi slaved away on my toenail in the darkness of my shoes.

After struggling with a large toe-nail clipper, to no avail, I decided to try the Side-cutters (when I knew she was not looking) and lo and behold, they worked like a charm!

Please don’t tell Marilyn as she will turn on that smile and still not say why just to see if I know why.

Written at 0436 hours, on Mother’s Day, May 7, 2016 when I just could not sleep.

Sometime ago I admitted that my heavy immersion into stress resulted in the greatest challenge to my health. This is a unique realization that most people recognize too late in life. Unfortunately, it is like my favorite analogy “when you find yourself up to your asshole in Alligators, suddenly you recall that on your ‘to-do’ list was to drain the swamp”.

I did write about my experience with Agoraphobia. My appeal to the Medical fraternity for help at that time became one where “take a Valium and you will feel better” was not an acceptable solution for me. I recognized that there was a “switch” which would be activated by my brain and once it was on, the entire sequence of the attack became a reality. So I worked on recognizing the conditions that I interpreted could be the causes and then I also developed a process to drift out of this condition. All these are in my previous blog and need not be repeated at this time.

Eventually, I was able to find “pathways” in my brain (see The Brain That Heals Itself) blog and for the past twenty years I have not suffered any attacks.

What did take over was Depression. Self-recognition of this result of continued stress is not always that easy but with informed reading and discussions with learned people, one starts to question himself along a professional quiz that is available and “Presto, Alaczam”, yes you fit the diagnosis.

Recognition is the first major step in one’s journey to deal withy this problem. The second step is to search for treatment. Pride and stubbornness are roadblocks to start the healing process.

If something hurts, the usual reaction is to remove the source of pain. In my instance it was to itemize all the possible sources and assess a rating on each to begin the process of correcting the situation by reducing them one by one. Not always is it possible to just remove yourself entirely as your source of income will be seriously affected. And so, it is not a “quick” solution.

Once the source(s) are removed, then one needs to decide how to treat this Depression. In my instance, I was finally able to discuss this condition with my Doctor. He was reasonably informed and recommended that I make an appointment with a Psychologist. Well, that alone, shocked me. How would I bring myself to take this action?

Reading many articles on Neuro-Science by noted Researchers made me aware that the brain has the ability to “heal” itself under certain conditions which are usually best achieved by Professionals in the field. Because of my success with Agoraphobia, I started the slow process of identifying that “trigger” that would launch me into Depression, I also searched for the conditions that would lift me out of that condition.

This takes a great deal of self-discipline to firstly study both conditions and secondly establish the paths through a bout. Remember my reference to the Alligator / Swamp story.

Doing this on your own is not recommended but here is what I did and the result is that I am reasonably out of Depression more than I am in these days:

1. When that “twinkle” of low mood starts, have a list of things you can do that will distract you like:
   1. Reading an interesting book
   2. Doing Suduku
   3. Taking a walk
   4. Singing
   5. If you have a hobby, get to it right away
   6. Phone a friend that is positive (talking to someone with problems of their own is not advisable)
   7. Visit someone positive
   8. Take your thoughts to a pleasant previous event
   9. Make yourself a treat (this needs control because soon you will be wearing those treats)
   10. Do everything in your power to distract yourself
   11. If you are in a negative environment, get yourself quickly away from there. This is usually the situation when some is “unloading” their troubles to you. When suffering from bouts of Depression, refrain from these associations as much as possible.
   12. I have a very positive and close relationship with my great family of four, my ten grandchildren and all their partners. We get together often and I find this very positive.
   13. I even sing Russian hymns to my two great grandsons and we have a mutual appreciation
2. The more diversions that you can place on your list, the better chance the mood swing can be averted
3. When in a full-fledged low mood, it is more difficult to work your way out of it as the “mood” takes over entirely. Being alone at this time should be avoided as much as possible. Try attracting yourself to one of the “diversions”
4. If all else fails and you find that trying to “heal” yourself is too difficult, professional help is available and go there

It has taken me almost two years to bring myself out of Depression. My family suffered greatly as did my friends.

Writing this personal blog, has also helped me a great deal.

God bless all of you who may be assisted with my blog.

Written: 0830 hours, Friday, April 15, 2016 from my Office at 145 – 4200 Grandview Drive, Castlegar, B.C. Elmer Verigin

The title in itself is a shocking revelation of a phenomena that has been of great interest to all humans since creation. Dr. Norman Doidge MD brings his interviews with the major professionals in this field that are proving the “plasticity” of the brain.

The very idea that the brain can actually find pathways around damaged or challenged parts of the brain has only recently been accepted by these professionals after a great deal of research. There is hope for victims of Stroke, Depression, Autism and many related brain challenged disorders.

I must thank Elaine Bevans for loaning this book to me and I must say that it captured my inquisitive attention until I read every page.

I will quote some interesting sections so that my readers may appreciate the depth of information that is available to those who may choose to read this book.

Page 43 “….For people, post-mortem examinations have shown that education increases the number of branches of neurons. An increased number of branches drives the neurons farther apart, leading to an increase in volume and thickness of the brain. The idea that the brain is like a muscle that grows with exercise is not just a metaphor….”

I found this very interesting as my deceased neighbor, retired Professor Harry Jukes, went barefoot as much as he was able. He believed what is being said in this next quotation from page 90 “….they are working on “gross motor control”, a function that declines as we age, leading to loss of balance, the tendency to fall, and difficulties with mobility. Aside from the failure of vestibular processing, this decline is caused by them decrease in sensory feedback from our feet. According to Mezenrich, shoes, worn for decades, limit the sensory feedback from our feet to our brain……..As we age, we want to look down at our feet while walking down stairs or on slightly challenging terrain, because we’re not getting much information from our feet…”

Notation made by EWV March 24 2016 from the book The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norma Doidge MD

I kept getting scattered thoughts that preoccupied my daily life during these last few days of 2015. I have dreamed of many people that I have been associated with over the years. Some of these dreams may be trying to provide messages which I have not yet interpreted. All in all, today, I decided to put into print my understanding of the events in 2015 that have affected my life and those around me, perhaps even more than myself.

The other day, I was providing advice to some of my grandchildren who are actively considering Engineering as a career. They were enamored with the ring on the little finger on my right hand (working hand). “That is what I want to wear”, they both declared. “I want to be the ‘Groom’ and not the ‘Best Man’ ,” they repeated my definition of the difference between a Technologist and an Engineer. I was merely suggesting that all Technologists report to an Engineer in most firms using both professions.

“You must be aware that an Engineer, taking his education, will endure 44 hours a week of classes and laboratories,” I explained. “The ‘rule of thumb’ requires an equal amount of study and written work after class. This equates to 88 hours in a week where 148 hours are available. Medical professionals recommend 8 hours a night of sleep for 56 hours. So there is a 4 hour per week “window” for recreation. At no time is there any pay cheque but at all times there are expenses that require funds for room and board as well as tuition and books. This is a four year sacrifice and commitment from your young life.”

I continued, “A voracious appetite for Mathematics is an accepted perquisite and senior matriculation grades in the A’s will be required for entrance in most universities.”

“We love Math and our marks are up there,” they responded. “We are ready for the challenge!”

I looked in their eyes and I could see that they were not to be denied were searching for approval from their “Gramps” which I was proud to provide with emotion and pride.

In reviewing my business career that covered development and construction projects throughout Western Canada, I kept recollecting my 35 year years as a Rotarian with Clubs in Trail, Castlegar, Vancouver, North Delta as well as New Westminster, all in British Columbia. The emphasis on regular and punctual attendance at the weekly meetings was underlined with volunteering in the community where it was needed most. One of the most successful Rotary International achievements was the eradication of Polio in the World. A gigantic undertaking that required exceptional organization of all the Rotary Clubs in the World.

When I think about the Rotary these various mottos constitute the Rotarian:

1. “You come to this Earth and rent space. Check from time to time to ensure that your rent is paid”
2. The Four Way Test:
a. “Is it the truth?”
b. “Is it fair to all concerned?’
c. “Will it build goodwill and better friendship?”
d. “Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”
3. “Service above self”
4. And many more

The ability to socialize with everyone in the Club by their first name and extending that in every Club that would be attended when travelling.

My thoughts became sentimental when I recalled all the Rotarians that I knew, that are now passed on. I know that I miss Rotary but I know that I am not able to serve to a standard that I would find acceptable and so that will have to stay as it is.

I marvel at all the many fantastic relationships that I have been honored to enjoy. Yes there are some that could have been a better experience. How would I know quality of friendship if sometimes lesser levels did take place?

It is with these people that we were able to create projects for the benefit of many people such as:

• Seniors Housing Projects
• Whatshan Lake Retreat
• Doukhobor Museum
• Youth Drug & Alcohol Treatment under Freedom Quest
• Other Projects

Yes, there was sacrifices by all involved but the results are significant and most of the work was performed without fanfare but as “service above self”. All of us obtained this satisfaction.

I am enjoying my “twilight years” with Marilyn. These times are celebrated with our family that has chosen to live near us in the Kootenays of British Columbia. I realize now that financial riches are not equivalent to family love. I am indeed very fortunate!

It seems that Marilyn and I have left a legacy of investments in friendships that covers all of Western Canada. No matter where we travel, there is someone in almost every community that we should visit. Unfortunately, we are usually too “uni-destined” to enjoy the spare time tie to visit everyone. It is the usual comment “next time we will need to appropriate more time to visit”. Yes I know, we are running short of time in many ways.

One of the greatest events that has taken place for s recently, is our trips to Kelowna Hospital, January 04, 2016. Marilyn has suffered several medical emergencies over the past three (3) years and it was time to obtain an Angiogram to determine if there were compromises of any sort in her heart. Not always do patients receive good news after such an examination. In our particular instance, Marilyn was advised that she had no blockages surrounding her heart.

It is with this great news, that Marilyn is determined to live the rest of her live to the fullest. That means an unrestricted participation in Garage Sales and Flea Markets for the “best deals”. Yes, I am joking but this blessing from God has been seriously accepted by both us.

I was able to finally complete a detailed factual account of the Grandview Project with a group of members of the Kootenay Columbia Seniors Housing Cooperative. It was an achievement to document it all in a professional manner. This project had encountered some difficulties that are being studied for resolution. Hopefully, that will take place soon so the project may achieve completion.

This blog entry was not intended to be a full article but it simply a reflection of the Writer’s thoughts at this date.

1. I started this as musings on January 02, 2016 in my Office at 145 – 4200 Grandview Drive, Castlegar, B.C. 1845 hours by Elmer Verigin
2. I continued on January 22, 2016 as distractions and organized thoughts come to me.
Posting of this blog took place January 24, 2016

My nephew, Darrell Verigin, came to visit me the afternoon of January 14, 2016. The visit was much appreciated and he was very excited about something. He dropped the latest edition of the Castlegar News (January 14, 2016) on the Dining Room table and directed Marilyn and I to read a page 4 headline:

“Castlegar Refugee Project (CRP) preparing to sponsor family”

This newly organized group in October of 2015, the article outlined, has the objective of sponsoring a Syrian Refugee family and requires $18,000 before they can submit their application for sponsorship to the Federal Government. The ultimate fund raising goal will require $20,000 to $30,000 to cover the costs of sponsorship in collaboration with the Government.

“I immediately went to the Heritage Credit Union (HCU) and donated $100,” Darrell emphatically stated. (The HCU was accepting donations on behalf of CRP and matching all donations up to $2,500).

“When I thought about this,” Darrell continued, “I immediately thought of my ancestors, the Doukhobors, and how they were so graciously accepted into Canada in 1899. If they had not been sponsored, without any reservation, by the Quakers and Lev Tolstoy in their plight with the Russian Government and religious persecution, it is unlikely that I would not be here to talk about this today.”

It is with his urging and enthusiasm, that I write this blog entry and encourage all of you to support this campaign initiated by the CRP. A call to Rosemary Manarin, chair of CRP, at (250) 365 6470 will inform you of the many other methods that you can participate such as:

• Positive outlook to the project
• Gifts
• Furniture
• Housing
• Doctor and Dentist treatment
• Housing
• In-kind support
• Clothing
• Other essentials to a family that will arrive with nothing

The CRP is a recognized constituent group, under the auspices of the Anglican Diocese in the sponsorship agreement holder with Immigration Canada. The Committee already has ten (10) members and thirty (30)volunteers.

Obviously, it is up to each and every one of us to participate in which ever manner we can.

1. As requested by Darrell Verigin on January14, 2016
Written on January 24, 2016 in my Office at 145 – 4200 Grandview Drive, Castlegar, B.C. 1845 hours by Elmer Verigin

My son-in-law, Rick Woodhouse, and daughter Lori, lent me on June 13, 2015, a pamphlet, “YOU 2” written by Price Pritchett. I am recovering from depression and they were realizing that I needed therapy of a positive nature, to have me continue to a save recovery from this dehabilitating conditions.

You 2 is a high-velocity formula for multiplying your personal effectiveness in Quantum Leaps.

Probably, the largest contributer to my condition was the result of the stoppage in completing the seniors housing project, Grandview, at Castlegar, B.C. In my role as Project Manager, I felt that not being able to complete Chateau Grandview, the campus style complex was a direct reflection on my personal limitation. I realize now that, the contributing elements were beyond my control.

This excerpt from You 2, page 25, is worthy to quote as follows:

“……Seek failure……

Quantum leaps demand a willingness to make mistakes.

You cannot leap up to a safe zone of behavior where you have beaten the odds of failing. An unwillingness to encounter defeat or run into problems outlaws quantum leaps. Unless you allow yourself to make mistakes, to fail, you will never have the opportunity to set limits of what you truly are capable of accomplishing.

You must realize that if you’re experiencing no difficulties, problems, or pain, you probably have aimed too low. You leveled off your growth and achievement. You probably are far from reaching your limits.
So think of problems or pain or slippage in performance as a positive sign. A performance lag ordinarily occurs at the very outset when you are making a quantum leap. It’s the pause during which you poise for the jump, the temporary loss of momentum that occurs in the process of “changing gears”.

You deliberately destabilize yourself when you break out the habit patterns that represent the status quo. You create some inner chaos for yourself. So be prepared for the possibility of confusion, anxiety, and failure. That’s part of opening yourself up to new methodology that has the potential to deliver exponential performance gains.

So often in life, it seems things first get worse on the way toward getting better. Be prepared for that sort of development. Problems belong in the process. They are part of the equation that produces you2. They are not proof that your ambitions are futile or that you should give up.

As someone has said, “Everything looks like failure in the middle.” You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s ben a murder in the operating room. If you send a rocket toward the moon, about ninety percent of the time it is off course – it “fails” its way to the moon by continually making mistakes and correcting them.

At the outset you may feel high because going for the quantum leap is heady stuff. But then the hard reality of “problems” may slap you in the face. Progress often masquerade3s as trouble.

It’s easy to lose faith, because other people may withdraw their support and be critical of your efforts. That, plus your own anxieties and uncertainties, can tempt you to turn on yourself.

This is then crucial point in the process – don’t give up! Failure belongs here. It’s a sign of progress!

The stress will seduce you toward retreat to the “safety” of the status quo, the trap of familiar. Just remember this. Failure does not mean you’re defeated.

Actually, the struggle gives you strength. It’s like tempering the steel, or the soreness involved in developing muscle. The difficulties are just evidence that you’re learning and progressing.

So go looking for failure….and the use it. Don’t interpret problems or breakdowns as proof that yu should quit, but instead take them as evidence of your growth and improvement.

Failure is a resource. It helps you find an edge of your capacities……”

I am taking this article as a thrust for me to9 go forward and complete what has been started.

Written on January 21, 2016 in my Office at 145 – 4200 Grandview Drive, Castlegar, B.C. 1030 hours by Elmer Verigin, and quoted from a pamphlet YOU2 by Price Pritchett