Gaia Community: RaSun's Blog

Living the Dream : Freeing the Mind : Expressing your Self

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:16:17 -0000

Show love to my sistas.

Call Me Ugly, Please

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:08:29 -0000

We remember the beautiful words of poets, but overlook the practical wonder of their insights and observation.

We quote from scriptures, for the beauty of their words and we recite the recitations, admiring the rhythm, as they flow; but, forget the simple lessons therein.

We recall the amazing feats of ancient men and women, but forget the plain meaning behind the symbolism of their lives.

I have been called beautiful for far too long. Today, I want to be among the ugly... so that the observer remembers every other reason, I am even worth mentioning.

I KNOW what someone else has done to us, but, what can I do for my brother?

I can create rhythm, rhyme and metaphor for days, but, what lessons have I left for the children?

I could write all sorts of compliments for "Queens," and still hold her as nothing more than an object of my desires.
How have I caused Respect for the women?

Questions I asked myself, in contemplating whether to ever write another poem...

So, I don't write poems, I simply write thoughts that may happen to rhyme.

I wish my Word, was like a Bed & Breakfast

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:06:46 -0000

Those clothed and fed,
and feeling content,
may pass them by, again and again...

But, those in need of a place to rest their head,
a hot meal, rags, and someone to take them in,
may stop and find shelter readily available therein...

kundal-ini

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:13:05 -0000

KUNDALINI INNER-CHI~ AWAKENING THE SLEEPING SERPENT**
Kundalini Sakti, coiled and dormant 'feminine' energy, is the vast potential of psychic energy contained within us all. It is normally symbolized as a serpent coiled into three and a half circles, with its tail in its mouth, and spiralling around the central axis (sacrum or sacred bone) at the base of the spine. The awakening of this serpent and the manifestation of its powers is a primary aim of the practice of Kundalini Yoga.

We do know that the basic techniques evolved in the monasteries of India & Tibet over a period of thousands of years. There the rishis systematically tested and perfected the precise movements, postures, sounds and breathing that activate different parts of the body and brain to produce specific results.

The object of the practice of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken the serpent, Sakti. When she is ready to unfold, she ascends through the spinal chakras to unite above the crown of the head with Siva, the Pure Consciousness pervading the whole universe.

Kundalini is a Sanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake." There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word - e.g. 'serpent power'.

The caduceus symbol of coiling snakes is thought to be an ancient symbolic representation of Kundalini physiology.

The concept of Kundalini comes from yogic philosophy of ancient India and refers to the mothering intelligence behind yogic awakening and spiritual maturation. It might be regarded by yogis as a sort of deity, hence the occasional capitalization of the term.

Within a western frame of understanding it is often associated with the practice of contemplative or religious practices that might induce an altered state of consciousness, either brought about spontaneously, through a type of yoga, through psychedelic drugs, or through a near-death experience.

According to the yogic tradition Kundalini is curled up in the back part of the root chakra in three and one-half turns around the sacrum. Yogic phenomenology states that kundalini awakening is associated with the appearance of bio-energetic phenomena that are said to be experienced somatically by the yogi.

This appearance is also referred to as "pranic awakening". Prana is interpreted as the vital, life-sustaining force in the body. Uplifted, or intensified life-energy is called pranotthana and is supposed to originate from an apparent reservoir of subtle bio-energy at the base of the spine. This energy is also interpreted as a vibrational phenomena that initiates a period, or a process of vibrational spiritual development.

The source text for the concept of kundalini is the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika" written by Swami Svatmarama (English translation, 1992) somewhere between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. Any examination of the topic should include this work. The pradipika is one of the later developments in yoga sacred texts. Hatha Yoga is strictly speaking a forcing technique which has as its primary aim the forcing of the arising of kundalini.

The main emphasis is a difficult regime of breathing techniques meant to increase the store of "prana" in the body. The well known physical postures are only meant to be an aid to maintain peak physical fitness, so as to support the real work of the breathing practices. All of this has, according to tradition, to be accompanied by prolonged and unbroken meditation practise (for which the main text is the "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali"). The text adds that great good fortune is another requirement, i.e.luck, for the procedure to succeed. However, these techniques are not without dangers.

The Interpretation of Kundalini
Two early western interpretations of Kundalini were supplied by C.W. Leadbeater (1847-1934), of the Theosophical Society, and the analytical psychologist Carl Jung (1875¬1961).

Jung's seminar on Kundalini yoga, presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932, has been widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought and of the symbolic transformations of inner peace.

Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the developmental phases of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation. (Princeton University Press Book description to C. G Jung - "The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga", 1999).

A few western translators interpret the energetic phenomena as a form of psychic or paranormal energy, although the western parapsychological understanding of psychic energy, separated from its cultural-hermeneutic matrix, is probably not the same as the yogic understanding. Yogic philosophy understands this concept as a maturing energy that expresses the individual's soteriological longings. Viewed in a mythological context it is sometimes believed to be an aspect of Shakti, the goddess and consort of Shiva.

Kundalini might be said to be a popular concept, since it is widely quoted among various disciplines of yoga and New Age beliefs. However, the recent popularization of the term within new religious movements has - according to some scholars of religion - not contributed to promote a mature understanding of the concept (Sovatsky, 1998). As with many eastern contemplative concepts there exist considerable difficulties, and possible semantic confusion, connected to the way these concepts are adapted to a western context.

This has led to somewhat different interpretations and applications of the concept of Kundalini within the spiritual and contemplative culture in the west. On the one hand there are the New Age popularizations, and on the other hand there is the traditional lineage of Kundalini Yoga understood from its cultural background and interpreted within the academic fields of Religious Studies, Pastoral Theology and Transpersonal/Humanistic psychology.

With the tools of these academic traditions it is possible to give different interpretations to the concept of Kundalini; such as physiological interpretations, psychological interpretations, clinical interpretations, religious interpretations, mythological interpretations and spiritual interpretations.

Kundalini Yoga is a meditative discipline - or a system of meditative techniques and movements - within the yogic tradition that focuses on psycho-spiritual growth and the body's potential for maturation. The practice of Kundalini Yoga consists of a number bodily postures, expressive movements and utterances, characterological cultivations, breathing patterns, and degrees of concentration.

The movements and the body-work should not - according to some scholars of religion - be considered mere stretching exercises. The concept of life-energy - pranotthana - is central to the practice and understanding of Kundalini Yoga. It also gives special consideration to the role of the spine and the endocrine system in the understanding of yogic awakening. Recently, there has been a growing interest within the medical community to study the physiological effects of meditation, and some of these studies have applied the discipline of Kundalini Yoga to their clinical settings.

Kundalini in the World's Religions
Kundalini is mainly associated with Hinduism. However, Kundalini as a spiritual experience is thought to have parallels in many of the mystical and gnostic traditions of the world's great religions.

Many factors point to the universality of the phenomenon. The early Christians might have referred to the concept as 'pneuma', and there are some recent parallels in contemporary Christian Charismatic 'Holy Ghost' phenomena. Religious studies also note parallels in Quakerism, Shakerism, Judaic Shuckling (torso-rocking prayer), the swaying zikr and whirling dervish of Islam, the quiverings of the Eastern Orthodox hesychast, the flowing movements of tai chi, the ecstatic shamanic dance, the ntum trance dance of the Bushman, Tibetan Buddhist tummo heat as practised by Milarepa, and the Indically-derived Andalusian flamenco (Sovatsky, 1998). Kundalini practice is centerfold in Japan's Aum Shinrikyo group and Kundalini-yoga is also one of the stages the practitioner is able to achieve.

Kundalini Rising
According to yogic terminology the force of Kundalini is supposed to be raised through meditative exercises and activated within the concept of a subtle body, a body of energy and finer substance. This process has been explained in detail by Motoyama (1981) and by Sharp (2005). Motoyama bases the bulk of the Kundalini raising practices listed in the book on the notable Swami Satyananda Saraswati, as well as on personal experience in helping people in various stages of Kundalini awakening. Sharp provides a kundalini meditation called The Great Invocation along with detailed guidance on controlling and managing the energy flow and subsequent manifestation.

Kundalini-experiences are often understood in terms of the Hindu chakra system, the understanding of psycho-spiritual energy centers along the spine (Scotton, 1996). According to Hindu tradition the Kundalini raises from the root-chakra up through the spinal channel, called sushumna, and it is believed to activate each chakra it goes through.

Each chakra is said to contain special characteristics (Scotton, 1996). In raising Kundalini, spiritual powers (siddhis) are also believed to arise, but many spiritual traditions see these phenomena as obstacles on the path, and encourages their students not to get hung up with them (Kason, 2000). Although the opening of higher chakras are believed to mark advanced spiritual unfoldment, it is important not to measure spiritual growth solely by the opening of higher potentials. According to this view chakras might be under- or overdeveloped, and lower chakras are thought to be just as important as higher.

Spiritual literature also describes instances where Kundalini is said to be initiated. Initiation of kundalini activity is usually considered to take place by a practice called shaktipat. This is a form of 'laying on of hands' where physical contact to the body or the forehead of the subject by the guru, or initiator, is supposed to cause an experience of Kundalini that later may persist or grow with continuing practice, or fade away if practice is stopped. Scotton (1996) mentions that kundalini-symptomatology is associated with such practices as shaktipat. He also gives a case-example of such a practice from an American meditation retreat.

According to much contemporary spiritual literature, and the field of Transpersonal Psychology, it is not considered wise to engage in any of these practices without the guidance of a credible teacher or without thorough psychological preparation and education in yoga. Any form of intense contemplative or spiritual practice without the support of a cultural context, or without the support of thorough psychological preparation, is usually considered to be unfortunate, and in some cases even dangerous. Traditional teachers of kundalini meditation also warn neophytes of the potential dangers of experimenting with kundalini Yoga techniques. These warnings should not be underestimated. A growing body of clinical and psychological literature notes the growing occurrence of meditation-related problems in Western contemplative life. Among these we find the Kundalini Syndrome (which is presented more closely later in this article) and different forms of "wind illness" described in the Tibetan tradition.

Rites of the Oshun (Ocean)

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:40:27 -0000

Sweet, sweet womban....warm and deep like summer Ocean,
Your head has never left my shoulder, though we be `parted,
But, what is space, or time? They disappeared when I was with You,
6, was our number, all being born to Equality, we were manifesting through,
that yellow, and orange, and white, and red Sunset, and Moon; it didn't surprise me;
Still... I AM immersed in your graceful arms ~ baptize me,
I want to be full of whatever it is, that is your substance; Lively,
in the place of crystalline Mind and spirit and truth; Suprising,
are the tides rising, upon your enticing face: warm and accomodating,
Like, Sun Set, across your belly, our red, yellow and orange mating,
I want to rest here, in your bosom, until I AM soaked and full,
Air serves me not, at all; in this place, I gasp for your touch,
Frantically reaching for, if only, the corner of your garment,
my heart is in surrender, yet, your current is rapid and charging,
So, I fear I shall never let these modest words taste the lobe of your ear,
Could you not feel my burning yen? Drifting about and beyond, deep and wide,
Your barriers are like reefs, scraping my vessel, at bottom and side,
Until I am immobilized between your feet, beneath the sight of your eyes,
Nourish me; my essence keeps me bouyant and floating,
But, for how long, til' I am drowned -- content with you not knowing?
Never. Still(ed), my heart is in Unity, despite where we could be; Opening,
reaching and engulfing, assimilating, unblemished amity and adoration,
Ay, if there's anything I learned, being a fisherman on the waters, it is patience,
Yet, evermore, I desire to be consumed in your splendor, in fact, I'm aching...
Though, I relish in the fact, this pain is but the birth of New energies raising....

The Inner Lights

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:36:27 -0000

1. What is your story?
Your story is more than just a list of the events in your life. It is about your self-image, how you see yourself, what shaped your mind, which memories imprinted themselves on you. Taken altogether, your story tells you where you are in the cycle of life.

2. What are your expectations?
Expectations are seeds. Once planted, they manifest into those things we gain from life, or lose. When you become aware of your own expectations, you discover the unspoken limits you have set on yourself. There is a huge difference between those who expect great things and those who don’t.

3. What is your purpose?
This is the meaning you are trying to find. Purpose runs deeper than the superficial things we hope to get, which mostly center on money, possessions, status, and comfort. If you know your purpose, you know the deeper project to which your life is dedicated.

4. What is your destination?
This is about fulfillment. Human goals are endless; they unfold, not like a road that has an end but like a river that flows to join the sea, merging with ever larger possibilities. If you know your destination, you can envision your highest fulfillment.

5. What is your path?
Having identified your purpose and your destination, there must be a way to get there. "Path" has been adopted as a spiritual term, but in fact everyone, spiritual or not, follows certain ways to get where they want to go.

6. Who are your adversaries?
Forward motion is never without obstacles. On your path you will find yourself blocked. At times the adversary is external, but if you examine yourself deeply, you will find it is always internal as well.

7. Who are your allies?
We all bring others with us on our journey. Just as your adversaries did, you may identify these allies as external, but they only reflect your own inner strength, just as an opponent reflects your inner vulnerability.

The Reflection of the Inner Lights of Man

Zothyrius Ali El

Within Man are three lights: the light of the mind, the light of certainty and the light of life. An example of these three esoteric lights can be best explained through the following phenomena: the Earth does not have its own light; however, when the Sun is reflected upon it, it (Earth) shines and is illumined as a radiant orb of life and intelligence. Just as the Sun shone on the Earth, the Sun also shines upon the Moon, making it visible to those that inhabit the Earth plane. This magnificent source of illumination is yearned to be comprehended by the optic nerve, but the photonic radiation is so great that it would terminate the flow of information in the optic chiasm which would result in blindness. The same phenomenon of illumination applies within the spiritual anatomy of Man.

The physical body, which is the domain of the lower self, is made of gross and mundane matter, like the Earth. Yet the light of the heart, which is the domain of the spirit of Allah, reaches the farthest corner and crevices of the shell of flesh, and is further reflected upon the mind, where the inner eye begins to visualize the greater reality. Just as daylight enables the outer eyes of the exoteric anatomy to see, so does the "heart-light" shining upon the inner eye prepares Man for the reception of higher tones with greater sensory perception. In this state of realization, the basic senses have no more use, for the light that the inner eye perceives vibrates at a greater frequency than the light that is recorded by the mundane eyes of exoteric anatomy. What is now seen are the greater information photonic codes of the angelic realms (Malakuwt). At this time, light upon higher manifestations of light (Light upon Light), opens a second eye of the heart. This is termed the eye of certainty, the eye that perceives "Al-Haqq," the true reality. With the eye opened, the pure adept can pierce the veil and look upon light itself, which is called the light of certainty. The components of this light act as superluminal emanations from higher evolutionary manifestations of consciousness forces which guided all of the divine emissaries of the "Brotherhood of One (Surah 23:52)."

There are two divine lights that come from Allah (Genesis 1:16): "Then God made two great lights: the greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night. He made the stars also." One shines upon the path of knowledge and wisdom, and the other shines upon the path that leads to the obliteration of ego (illusory separate identity of Man) and into unity with Allah. Man has two inner eyes in the heart: one is the eye of understanding, and the other is the eye that guides one to salvation. That light by which Allah guides is the light of certainty. This is the light that shines toward the path to paradise. If the source of light is added to the light shed upon the path of guidance, it will make visible all the hitherto unseen realms of the angelic beings in the greater worlds and planes of Allah. These are the beings who are the agents of Allah, who carry the secret commands of your destiny. This is the "Light upon Light" that is spoken of in Surah 24:35.

The Holy Quran - Surah 24:35 "Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. The parable of his Light is as if there were a niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass; the glass as it were a brilliant star. Lit from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth set forth parables for men: and Allah doth know all things."

The light of life, the third light, is the light which energizes the animal self in man (Ruh al Hayvani/Nafs al Ammarah). There are three influences that weaken it and render it impotent. These influences are revealed as frequencies that deafens the ear; a veil that blinds the eye; and a veil that blinds the mind. These three influences, which are spoken of in the Holy Quran,

are caused by the influence of the material world, the world of illusion and lower self intoxication. The intoxication with these three ruffians of negation renders the heart sick. When the heart is in a state of disease, the mind launches a ray of light upon it to immunize the heart against the tyranny of the lower self. However, while burning the debris of the lower self, it also burns the heart, and the heart on fire, is covered with the dark smoke by-product it generates. This smoke by-product separates the heart from the mind, breaking all communication between them. Thus the heart is darkened and void of light. It is this dark cloud that has fallen upon the heart which becomes a blinding veil.

That which obstructs the light of certainty and obscures the sight of the eye of the heart is the lack of trust, sincerity, and a lack of a discerning nature that distinguishes the positive forces of life from the negative forces of destruction. The resistance to these ills is within the range of human possibility. With positive intent, active effort and concentration upon Allah’s will, the imbalance caused by the lower self, can be healed and recalibrated to the harmonics of Allah. This will restore health to the heart and produce peace of heart (Islam). Then the Light upon Light enters, and with it, the eyes are open to the greater realms of being and realization. For the heart becomes a mirror where Allah’s light is reflected as Allah is the light of the Heavens and the Earth.

Luke 11:36 "If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light."

Beloved Ordinary-ness

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:32:49 -0000

"You looked like an Angel, standing there, in your white. Lovely. I've always wanted to tell you how I feel, but..." she wafted the words softly into my ear.

Sweet words. What could I say? Sitting there in that room. As such a young man then, I thought much of mySelf, but, an Angel?

Nooo.. I am no such a thing. I Am ordinary. So ordinary. As ordinary as they come. By choice. And that is a Good and bless'ed existence. Make me not something I would not be under my own Will. Draft no hopes for me, I cannot conform to the schematic of a home, which greets me not with simple warmth and organic tastes. Yes, a home, that is it! I suppose I would be a cottage, rather than a mansion; a greenhouse, rather than a garage. Accent my path with wood or bamboo, plants, curves and open spaces, rather than plastic tiling, squared walls, and electronic tools of distraction. I am no floating, winged being. Lest I float on dreams, and winged because of Love alone. I cannot fly, nor disappear at will, except that I would fly in the face of conventional wisdom; disappearing in the obscurity of One man's mind who subverts every "truth" society has to teach, save that God IS Love. I cling to my ordinariness. I am not an angel, except that by Angel you meant a servant; a manifested flare of consciousness, expressed of the Divine. I AM a child with unique spirit, but, I am no different from anyone else. I do not promise to make you happy; only You can accomplish that. I will get it wrong. Human-ness and Divinity will blind me, at times; as will masculinity. I will fail and disappoint you. Except that you approach me like a natural thing; as a flowing fall, whose waters cannot be contained, nor caught by the hand. You may hold me, but I will slip through your fingers. You may caress me, but my tide is not always high. I am everything you say I am, yet, none of those things. I can fulfill all of your requirements, but, only if you are sufficient for them all, first and foremost. Expectations, in this world, are fetters for the mind. Ah, you remember that poem? You know, why does the caged bird sing? It is because its Soul, and not its Body is trapped. For this union to be based on it-Self, is truly angelic. And, that exists Only where the serpent stands on its lost legs and speaks with the ferver of an inferno, raging on in the pits of the stomach, aimed between the brows; where a man is able to see his or her own eye; where oceans flow towards rivers; where heavens and hells are the same places; therein lies what I am attempting to de-scribe. That place where Relation is not a Ship, though a vessel nonetheless, elevating pon enlight-in-ed, trails, trodded on. Simply said, I am a Man only, have mercy, beautiful Woman. Do not project your tenderness and nurturing on Me. I am cold and hard of understanding. I speak before thinking. I seek solutions and explanations, forgetting about feelings and intuition. I am a constant work in progress. I am that temple, built without mortar, nor the sound of hammers swung. In fact, lesser; I am the stone rejected from its constructing, though, vital to its foundation. I am many things. Extraordinary? Angelic? I would say, I'm ME. And happy that way. If you are happy as YOU, then WE, would be a beautiful thing to BE.... had. THAT would represent my Love. A union, both sacred and mundane. Not neat, nor perfect. But, interested, adventurous, perfect-ing, void of fear and compulsion. Open and Distant. Free.

Unfortunately, explorers of Spirit must make terrible Archers, because, where the word "Love" was spoken, this point was totally missed. Perhaps, this lifetime, we'll get it right... wherever she may BE."

(c)(r)2008

Waterside, fire

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:27:43 -0000

Don't Move! Lo! We stand here today, MEN. Bursting forth with vitality and strength, tempered and disciplined. Loins wrapped, heads covered, swords sharpened. Appearing to be equipped and Ready.

But, is it true? Is that greatest amidst all what is to be seen at this moment?

Today, all that we have been, our hearts, our cares, our passions, our desires, rest squarely upon our shoulders here, fragile, All that we are and could have hoped to be has been scattered about, before the nations; dashed against the jagged stones. We have been looted and humiliated, repeatedly. Leading us to this moment, not reactionary, but Rebellious -- with fruitful accord. Leading us, to gather all that we've had at our disposal, to prepare for This moment. We have nothing else.

See!? I say, we are Yet standing here naked before the World! We have been stripped by circumstance. Yet, we shall be embarassed not by our nudity. Nothing is stronger than the mind made-up and None can strip the mail armor garments fortifying the sincere Heart of the committed.

We have nothing left, but these, the coverings upon our heads, our sharpened swords, and our human-ness. Yet, the First of these is also an illusion. Our thoughts are clear, as we stand here, poised to withstand the onslaught of a truly liscentious and woeful force. Domination is our road, to cast beneath of our feet, and trod to better Days. Rape and starvation are our fuel, to kindle the camp fires, which draw sweat from the brow of Every servant here. Yes, I say not Warrior -- War is not our nature; I say not Soldier -- our Souls would much better be used, inclining our intelligence towards much Higher pursuits; but, I say Servant -- for our stance here today should, by no Man, be considered a self-fulfilling, self-absorbed pursuit of vengeance, fury, or the acquisition of fame and notoriety, we are Here today for our Mothers, for newborn children, for the freedom of Souls to focus themselves upon Art and Enlightenment and Sharing, without fear of repression and incarceration. That the Domination, Rape, Starvation, Looting, and Humiliation of a people subdued should not continue for another Generation of Our Sons and Daughters. All those who live on this countryside know why we are here today, they support us with such beautiful fervor; we are open, to be read by any who know -- and that is glorious -- to be Trusted and Loved and Understood, it is as if our Hearts and Minds were the books, lost in the libraries of Men-Nefer, Nebta, Sais, Tanis, and Alexandria;

See? It is as if we were bald, our foreheads glistening beneath the merciless Sun, beading down with its strong intent, nearly as relentless as our very lives, themselves. Our heads are uncovered, by our own prudence. Be careful.

Ay! All we have, standing here, are our swords, and our Human-ness; Yet, still, the former amongst these two is also an illusion. Our scimitars, they appear to be sharpened, clean enough to pierce the center of a hair; made of the best materials, by the best hands which Damascus has ever had to offer. Our ancestors have carried these weapons for as long as we can remember; across the sands of the Sahara, where once laid a great and green forest, in Kush and Kamit; across the lands of Persia, Sassana, and Medea; through Etrusca and Andalucia, beyond the Silk Road, Dravida, Lorenzo and Laventa. We are today, no different. Our names are the same as they, and we too carry our swords into battle, in the name of our forefathers.

Yet, there is a difference between us and they. They are greater than we. Liberation does not come from the swinging of a sword, though, it may be found IN the swinging, back and forth, of the sword, if one sees that the cycles of living, too, swing back and forth, like pendulums, cloaking the precision of our manifestation in physical rhythmation. Their swords swung to clear the brush from a virgin land, learning to live in its harmony. Today, we have elongated the swords of yesterday and "perfected" their deadliness -- if you can call this perfection -- our swords swing, only in attempts to right the treacherous imbalance we have allowed to usurp the order of our Mother, the Earth. In fact, it were as if we were without weapons at all, for we have no Wisdom with which to truly Arm ourselves. We are lost. Many of us, only find our manhood when in conflict, attempting to be "pure" fighters -- if one can call this pure -- where, we have forgotten how to share tenderness and kind word and thoughtful intent and upright action with our wife and child and parent, back home. Have we been degenerated to the point, where near-death experience is the only way we might feel alive, and in and of and through and about this world? Each of us here has memories of what he will do tommorow, or the day after, or in the months to come. We may be great, but, in our shadows rests insecurity. Nay, I say, throw your desires into the ocean behind us. For today, there is no tommorow; ah, there is no yesterday, nor next month. There is Now. And, Now we stand, a band of 7,000 against legions: 20,000 -- 30,000 -- who knows? Since none of us have Lived for what truly know is Love; Who among us has courage to lay down his life for what it is he Loves? This type of Love is much sharper, and much clearer, and a much better craft, than any instrument of battle could ever be. The hands of Damascus cannot build, and the artisans of Egypt cannot replicate a tool so splendid as this, Supreme among "things," this Love.

So, no matter whose swords prove sharpest and most keen, we are All fools in the eyes of our Mothers, and our Grandmothers, and our Fathers, and our Wives, even our Children know, we are wasting our time and energy, when we could have crafted a much greater Place for them. And, words fail us, we cannot explain, as our forebearers did, the vision that we see. We feel we are crafting a better circumstance for them, by throwing the yolk of our soon-to-be-former-masters, from around our necks. They sigh, and pat our backs, and thank us. Though, they wish the Men on both sides had never been so greedy as to think One or Another can Own land, which belongs to all of our Mother, the Earth.

See? It because the "Men" on both sides of this plain, lacked the foresight, or the Wisdom to prevent such a day from having ever come to pass, in the name of politics and diplomacy, we All stand foolish. It is because we lacked Wisdom, that we -- utlimately -- are standing here, unarmed.

But, I say, there is still an opportunity for us.

All that is left Now, is our Human-ness. And, the very state of being Human, means Also to be Divine. I do not have time to explain to you. But, know, today, there is only this day. Our pasts matter not, our futures are like vapors, that will only disappear, the moment we attempted to grab them. Listen, there is nowhere to turn. Behind us is an Ocean, waiting to swallow us whole, should we submit to cowardice and attempt to turn and run from what we have created here; submit not to cowardice! Submit only to God! And to submit to "God" means to Submit to what is Natural. And what is Natural is to Survive and to Protect what one Loves.

Today, we are protecting Human-ness.

That which finds Beauty in things. That which finds Unity in things. That which sees Wonder and Perfecting in those dear to our Hearts. That which recognizes its weakness, crushes arrogance, and strives to Improve itself. That which turns the wheel of Life, through constant growth and re-birth and re-definition, in Living. Today we protect not our names, not our egos, nor our possessions, not even our families -- but, Human-ness. For, all of those things shall fall, if Human-ness falls. To have them, but to be in-humane, is the same as death. And death walking is far worse than death transcending. If each one of us can know such a love, greater it is that we die with it close to our hearts, than to live in this "place" for an eternity. Better it is, still, if we are to survive, that we still, from this day forward, die daily to this Love, than to live for Aeons, and live as They who oppress us, They who are ever clinging to their smokey and dazzling illusions, which would disappear at the wave of even a childs minute hand, evaporating as it if had never been there nor ever will be again.

Don't Move from your position, Men.

Our garments from here-on are our sincere Devotion and Love; our Armor and Sword, are our Wisdom and Understanding. Nothing more do we need. If we survive this day, which we shall, as our fathers survived the unforgiving forests of our homelands, we will survive the unforgiving hearts of our administrators and bond holders. But, perhaps to your suprise -- even to my own -- what we do shall even be of our Love for Them. We cannot allow them to delude themselves any longer; as we have deluded ourselves for so long, as to believe that we were meant to live in bondage, they have deluded themselves for equally as long, as to believe that they were meant to live on bondage.

Today, as foolish or a wise as any of us may actually have been or prove to be, one thing is certain... it will be a New world that we wake up to in the morning.

See? There is glory, even in the darkest of days. For, darkness we were born out of the Womb, and darkness we shall some day return to, the Womb of this Universe. Day or Night matters night. War or Peace. It is YOU that matters.

WE are the earnest inclinations of the Soul and the instructed functions of the Intelligence; THEY are the fetters, shackling the Mind of the learn'ed Self -- the perceivers, thinking they can see what perceives / the perceived, thinking they are all that there is to be seen.

Stand firm Men. Love where you are. Don't Move from your Position.

Where you are is where you must be, for now.

There is an Ocean behind you. There is an Army before you.

Where shall you go, but Right Here.

Where else is there?

Become Wise, and hence, become FREE.

Until.........

Don't Move.

Home Welcome ~ Friend, Devotion

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:13:35 -0000

This rug sits in my home.

Every night, before bed, I find myself brushing that rug off; as if brushing the worries of another days struggle, from the shoulders of a nation.

What is it about this rug?

It's not extraordinarily beautiful, and I am not extraordinarily concerned with an immaculate, nor spotless dwelling.

Clean, and neat, for sure, but immaculate?

No, there always must have been something more.

Tonight, as I knelt, and the smell of vanilla and amber and ginger root spice and tribal coconuts and love culminated in the nexus of the room, it was like a Sattvic moment...

...so full of wisdom, and promise.

Black, and Brown, and Caramel, and many other tones of your beautiful skin, child;

this rug has always been all of those things, but, today, especially.

Yes, that's it;

I kneel and clean this rug, not for its sake; not for my sake; but for You.

Why shouldn't I care enough to prepare a clear and inviting welcome for my Belov'ed.

That we might, likewise, endeavor to provide a clean and pure path for/with each other, in all aspects of our lives.

It can ne'r be a symbol of your company, but, a symbol of the Hope, certainly...

..blessed, in flow, together, like Arches over Marrakesh.

I cherish the bonds, the knowledge reflected, the wisdom shared, the understandings gained.

The inspiring music, the intricate hand shakes that make us look like Street Masons, building a stairwell to Higher Ground;

the laugher, the sounds;

the rhythms of our nature;

powerful, like, sunlight; too complex and recondite to commit to paper;

yet, so simple; the joy of a pleasant visit, demonstrates how,

Such, is the nature of Tao;

our immortal Love of Divine within -- Al-lah (All Law),

Or so it seems...

As I have re-discovered Devotion, here, on my knees...

How perfect, I'd almost wish you were here,

to share an experience, such as that, so phenomenal...

Yet, still(ed), in your ab-sense, good friend... I honor You.

Even notice the time... P.M..... 11 : 33...

True Self, Eternally.

Peace,
~Ra

(c)(r)2008

Everybody Blames "The Ego"

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:30:07 -0000

Why you want to keep Trying, to kill something that Is, but, truly, Is Not?

I must admit that In most spiritual circles, the ego gets a pretty bad rap. The reason for this is that the ego, to some extent, is the principle in our psyches that separates us from one another, while spirit is the principle that shows us that no such separation exists. Sometimes the ego is depicted as an almost demonic figure that keeps us from realizing our true nature. But at its most basic, the ego is simply a tool that helps us organize the various aspects of our personality so that we can function in the world. In this sense, the ego is simply a way for us to understand and attend to ourselves at the same time as we understand and attend to the world around us. The ego is a tool that we use to navigate the world.

Perhaps the problem is that the ego sometimes gets out of control. This happens when the higher self loses control of the psyche. The psyche then falls under the leadership of the ego, an entity that was never meant to lead. The ego is meant to be definitively in the service of the higher self. When this relationship is functioning, the ego is a useful intermediary representing the whole self but not thinking that it is the whole self. Then, it is almost as if the ego is the self playfully pretending to be the separate entity called "I." Like an actor, the ego plays the roles that the world asks us to play in order to be part of the program. In this way, the ego can be a tool enabling us to be in the world but not of it. As long as we are in touch with our higher selves, our egos are not a threat. They are simply useful tools in the service of spirit. We keep our egos in check when we continually nurture our awareness of who we really are. Then our egos are free to serve without trying ineffectually to rule. It is healthy to have ego, but like all things in life, ego functions best when it is in balance and harmony with your whole self.

~Dr. Alim EL Bey

pearls or jewels, or seeds 1

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:42:52 -0000

"Would one call these pearls or seeds? Wise words like water, `pon fertile minds, bleed. Flowing, at ease, unequalled, even by the Seven Seas...."

*

Whether you pour, into a cup, a scorchingly hot or brain-freezingly cold beverage, ultimate, they will both end up as... Cool. Such is the one whose cup is filled with love, an artful understanding of Life; knowing that everything returns to center, eventually.

~~~

"Love," or perhaps infatuation, makes a person appear to be So beautiful, as to be otherwordly, regardless of all of their flaws and past mistakes and idiosyncracies. Loving all, what effect, then, would it have? To be in love with all of humanity, to be infatuated only with the God dwelling there-in. A Love Supreme, indeed.

~~~

Everyone seems given to talk of, the evolution of consciousness. To me, it seems, there are evolutes of consciousness: soul~individual self, intelligence, etc. But, truly, consciousness IS; the various Higher senses (beyond the 5) and chakras (beyond the 7) are always there, everyone contains them, yet, not everyone is aware of them, or knows how to utilize them. It is awareness, or perception that changes, becoming lesser or greater, based on our own efforts, as well as, to some degree, the societies that we create for them (our children). Society today leaves little room for the metaphysical, or actually, anything other than thoughts of economic acquisition. Fiat, money is not the only object, even sex and "love" and "friendship" have become a kind of system of exchange. When we turn the wheel to a time more conducive to self-cultivation, then, awareness and perception can be grown. WE are perceivers And the perceived, yet, perception cannot perceive the perceive (the true self). So, greater than awareness of "the world," will be when we learn to go within, and find the Universe in our-Selves; Not in an abstract sort of way, necessarily, but, that, the materials, the functions, the principles, the laws, the archetypes, the shapes, the inclinations in the universe are literally within, as well.

~~~

Knowledge is God, because it gives us the ability to Create and Build or to Destroy and Replace. Such, is the same cycle that Karma, in part, subjects us to; birth and death and re-birth and re-death. Ka Ra Maa, is the action we perform, in light of the laws of spirit(uality). Wisdom is God because, with it, we learn to apply all of the things we know, to create, and promote, and maintain Equality, with other beings, or not-being. Understanding is God, because it is the means in which people have always Freed themselves from fetters and the stale arrogance of decaying servitude; it is the means of creating a Culture, coherent enough to keep a people focused and empowered, yet, fluid enough to grow with the times, and not become a prison, or degenerate into a dogma or religion. Power is the means, by which, we activate or manifest or wisdom. Equality is the result of what is true, or universal; it’s achievement is the way we prove our knowledge valid, rather than trivial or selfish -- in the negative understanding of the word "selfish."

~~~

I found love, at the same place I found freedom, the same place I discovered that I am constanting creating my world, with word, sound, speech, and thought alone. Love is Creation and Negation. Creation and Negation are acts of Intelligence. The intelligence is the driver, where the Self is the rider. The material of each of these is Eternal. Beings unto themselves are proof enough of the Divine, but, their capacity to love, and loves capacity to radically affect the awareness of all of these, makes love an even better name than "God," or Dog-spelled-backwards.

~~~

A man Must have something to protect... to take this ability away from him, concerning himself, is to hope for a society whose sons are reckless; to take this ability away from him, concerning his parents and his relatives and friends, is to hope for a society whose sons become desperate; to take this ability away from him, concerning his basic necessities: food clothing and shelter, is to hope for a society whose sons shall become violent; to take this ability away from him, concerning his family and his community, is to hope for a society whose sons will take their own lives, in hopes and in order, that 1) those left behind should never know such feelings of helplessness and despair and 2) he should find his strength and purpose in the glory of fighting for an ideal, which, ultimately can only be expressed in war and destruction. Ironically, to be so powerless in society, such men, on the battlefield, are unbeatable. Rome learned. The medieval and colonialist nations of Europe learned. America is learning, but, not fast enough.

~~~

Music is the universal language teacher. The universal language comes of the body. It seems, in my travels, that everyone understands a hand outstretched, a head nod, a tap of the foot, a move of the hips, or silent lips mouthing precious words while wrapped up in some mundane task.

~~~

Keep your inner child alive, forever. You will live longer. Watch cartoons. Day dream. Imagine and draw, color, make up songs, change the words to your favorite songs. Pass gentle notes to your beloved, with eager excitement and happiness. Expect understanding of everyone, be quick to forgive and forget those who refuse to render it. Enjoy the outdoors. All these simple pleasures, are as important as a healthy diet, moderate exercise, fruitful friendships, balanced relationships, and spirituality itself.

~~~

Fill your home with wonderful smells, beautiful portraits and landscapes, candles, natural light, photos of loved ones and great inspirations, cultural and ethnic histories, and clear open spaces... notice the difference?

~~~

I find such potential in....

T. B. Cont..

A New Era calls for A New Man

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:31:17 -0000

My message is simple. My message is a new man, homo novus.

The old concept of man was of either/or; materialist or spiritualist, moral or immoral, sinner or saint. It was based on division, split. It created a schizophrenic humanity. The whole past of humanity has been sick, unhealthy, insane. In three thousand years, five thousand wars have been fought. This is just utterly mad; it is unbelievable. It is stupid, unintelligent, inhuman.

Once you divide man in two, you create misery and hell for him. He can never be healthy and can never be whole, the other half that has been denied will go on taking revenge. It will go on finding ways and means to overcome the part that you have imposed upon yourself. You will become a battle-ground, a civil war. That's what has been the case in the past.

In the past we were not able to create real human beings, but humanoids. A humanoid is one who looks like a human being but is utterly crippled, paralysed. He has not been allowed to bloom in his totality. He is half, and because he is half he is always in anguish and tension; he cannot celebrate. Only a whole man can celebrate. Celebration is the fragrance of being whole.

Only a tree that has lived wholly will flower. Man has not flowered yet.

The past has been very dark and dismal. It has been a dark night of the soul. And because it was repressive, it was bound to become aggressive. If something is repressed, man becomes aggressive, he loses all soft qualities. It was always so up to now. We have come to a point where the old has to be dropped and the new has to be heralded.

The new man will not be "either/or"; he will be "both/and."

The new man will be earthy and divine, worldly and other-worldly.

The new man will accept his totality and he will live it without any inner division, he will not be split.

His god will not be opposed to the devil, his morality will not be opposed to immorality; he will know no opposition.

He will transcend duality, he will not be schizophrenic.

With the new man there will come a new world, because the new man will perceive in a qualitatively different way and he will live a totally different life which has not been lived yet. He will be a mystic, a poet, a scientist, all together. He will not choose: he will be choicelessly himself.

That's what I teach: homo novus, a new man, not a humanoid.

The humanoid is not a natural phenomenon. The humanoid is created by the society -- by the priest, the politician, the pedagogue. The humanoid is created, it is manufactured.

Each child comes as a human being: total, whole, alive, without any split. Immediately the society starts suffocating him, stifling him, cutting him into fragments, telling him what to do and what not to do, what to be and what not to be. His wholeness is soon lost. He becomes guilty about his whole being. He denies much that is natural, and in that very denial he becomes uncreative. Now he will be only a fragment, and a fragment cannot dance, a fragment cannot sing, and a fragment is always suicidal because the fragment cannot know what life is. The humanoid cannot will on his own. Others have been willing for him -- his parents, the teachers, the leaders, the priests; they have taken all his willing. They will, they order; he simply follows.

The humanoid is a slave.

I teach freedom. Now man has to destroy all kinds of bondages and he has to come out of all prisons -- no more slavery. Man has to become individual. He has to become rebellious. And whenever a man has become rebellious.... Once in a while a few people have escaped from the tyranny of the past, but only once in a while -- a Jesus here and there, a Buddha here and there. They are exceptions. And even these people, Buddha and Jesus, could not live totally. They tried, but the whole society was against it.

My concept of the new man is that he will be Zorba the Greek and he will also be Gautam the Buddha: the new man will be Zorba the Buddha. He will be sensuous and spiritual, physical, utterly physical, in the body, in the senses, enjoying the body and all that the body makes possible, and still a great consciousness, a great witnessing will be there. He will be Christ and Epicurus together.

The old man's ideal was renunciation; the new man's ideal will be rejoicing. And this new man is coming every day, he is arriving every day. People have not yet become aware of him. In fact he has already dawned. The old is dying, the old is on its death-bed. I don't mourn for it and I say please don't mourn for it. It is good that it dies, because out of its death the new will assert. The death of the old will be the beginning of the new. The new can come only when the old has died utterly.

Help the old to die and help the new to be born! And remember, the old has all the respectability, the whole past will be in his support; and the new will be a very strange phenomenon. The new will be so new that he will not be respected. Every effort will be made to destroy the new. The new cannot be respectable, but with the new is the future of the whole of humanity. The new has to be brought in.

My work consists in creating a Buddhafield, an energy-field, where the new can be born. I am only a midwife helping the new to come into a world which will not be accepting of it. The new will need much support from those who understand, from those who want some revolution to happen. And the time is ripe, it has never been so ripe. The time is right, it has never been so right. The new can assert itself, the break-through has become possible.

The old is so rotten that even with all support it cannot survive; it is doomed! We can delay, we can go on worshipping the old; that will be just delaying the process. The new has to come: at the most, we can help it to come sooner, or we can hinder it and delay its coming. It is good to help it. If it comes sooner, humanity can still have a future, and a great future: a future of freedom, a future of love, a future of joy.

I teach a new religion. This religion will not be Christianity and will not be Judaism and will not be Hinduism. This religion will not have any adjective to it. This religion will be purely a religious quality of being whole.

My sannyasins have to become the first rays of the sun that is going to come on the horizon. It is a tremendous task, it is an almost impossible task, but because it is impossible it is going to seduce all those who have any soul left in them. It is going to create a great longing in all those people who have some adventure hidden in their beings, who are courageous, brave, because it is really going to create a brave new world.

I talk of Buddha, I talk of Christ, I talk of Krishna, I talk of Zarathustra, so that all that is best and all that is good in the past can be preserved. But these are only a few exceptions. The whole humanity has lived in great slavery, chained, split, insane.

I say my message is simple, but it will be very hard, difficult, to make it happen. But the harder, the more impossible, it is, the greater is the challenge. And the time is right because religion has failed. science has failed. The time is right because the East has failed, the West has failed. Something of a higher synthesis is needed in which East and West can have a meeting, in which religion and science can have a meeting.

Religion failed because it was other-worldly and it neglected this world. And you cannot neglect this world; to neglect this world is to neglect your own roots. Science has failed because it neglected the other world, the inner, and you cannot neglect the flowers. Once you neglect the flowers, the innermost core of being, life loses all meaning. The tree needs roots, so man needs roots, and the roots can only be in the earth. The tree needs an open sky to grow, to come to a great foliage and to have thousands of flowers. Then only is the tree fulfilled, then only does the tree feel significance and meaning and life becomes relevant.

Man is a tree. Religion has failed because it is talking only of the flowers. Those flowers remain philosophical, abstract; they never materialise. They could not materialise because they were not supported by the earth. And science has failed because it cares only about the roots. The roots are ugly and there seems to be no flowering.

The West is suffering from too much science; the East has suffered from too much religion.

Now we need a new humanity in which religion and science become two aspects of one man. And the bridge is going to be art. That's why I say that the new man will be a mystic, a poet and a scientist.

Between science and religion only art can be the bridge -- poetry, music, sculpture. Once we have brought this new man into existence, the earth can become for the first time what it is meant to become.

It can become a paradise: this very body the Buddha, this very earth the paradise!

Osho, "Zorba The Buddha"

H.oly I.ntegrated P.eople H.aving O.mnipresent P.ower

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:36:21 -0000

OM ~ AUM ~ AMEN

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:24:41 -0000

Om: Symbol of the Absolute
From Subhamoy Das

The goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which men desire when they lead the life of continence ... is Om. This syllable Om is indeed Brahman. Whosoever knows this syllable obtains all that he desires. This is the best support; this is the highest support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma."
~ Katha Upanishad I

Om or Aum is of paramount importance in Hinduism. This symbol (as seen in the image on the right) is a sacred syllable representing Brahman, the impersonal Absolute of Hinduism - omnipotent, omnipresent, and the source of all manifest existence. Brahman, in itself, is incomprehensible; so a symbol becomes mandatory to help us realize the Unknowable.

Om, therefore, represents both the unmanifest (nirguna) and manifest (saguna) aspects of God. That is why it is called pranava, to mean that it pervades life and runs through our prana or breath.

Om in Daily Life

Although Om symbolizes the most profound concepts of Hindu belief, it is in use daily. The Hindus begin their day or any work or a journey by uttering Om. The sacred symbol is often found at the head of letters, at the beginning of examination papers and so on. Many Hindus, as an expression of spiritual perfection, wear the sign of Om as a pendant. This symbol is enshrined in every Hindu temple premise or in some form or another on family shrines.

It is interesting to note that a newly born child is ushered into the world with this holy sign. After birth, the child is ritually cleansed and the sacred syllable Om is written on its tongue with honey. Thus right at the time of birth the syllable Om is initiated into the life of a Hindu and ever remains with him as the symbol of piety.

The Eternal Syllable

According to the Mandukya Upanishad, "Om is the one eternal syllable of which all that exists is but the development. The past, the present, and the future are all included in this one sound, and all that exists beyond the three forms of time is also implied in it".

The Music of Om

Om is not a word but rather an intonation, which, like music, transcends the barriers of age, race, culture and even species. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is a mantra or prayer in itself. If repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the centre of one's being, the atman or soul.

There is harmony, peace and bliss in this simple but deeply philosophical sound. By vibrating the sacred syllable Om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Ultimate Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the highest state of "stateless" eternity, states the Bhagavad Gita.

The Vision of Om

Om provides a dualistic viewpoint. On one hand, it projects the mind beyond the immediate to what is abstract and inexpressible. On the other hand, it makes the absolute more tangible and comprehensive. It encompasses all potentialities and possibilities; it is everything that was, is, or can yet be. It is omnipotent and likewise remains undefined.

The Power of Om

During meditation, when we chant Om, we create within ourselves a vibration that attunes sympathy with the cosmic vibration and we start thinking universally. The momentary silence between each chant becomes palpable. Mind moves between the opposites of sound and silence until, at last, it ceases the sound. In the silence, the single thought-Om-is quenched; there is no thought. This is the state of trance, where the mind and the intellect are transcended as the individual self merges with the Infinite Self in the pious moment of realization. It is a moment when the petty worldly affairs are lost in the desire for the universal. Such is the immeasurable power of Om.

Siddartha

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:47:13 -0000

Sankofa ~ Never Forget...

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:40:53 -0000

Tamil, Goddess

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:45:31 -0000

Mathnavi I, 109

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:43:21 -0000

Current mood: electric

Love is longing and longing, the pain of being parted
No illness is rich enough for the distress of the heart,
A lover's lament surpasses all other cries of pain.
Love is the royal threshold to God's mystery.
The carnival of small affections and polite attachments
Which litter and consume our passing time
Is no match to Love which pulses behind this play.
It's easy to talk endlessly about Love,
To live Love is to be seized by joy and bewilderment;
Love is not clear-minded, busy with images and argument.
Language is too precocious, too impudent, too sane
To stop the molten lava of Love which churns the blood,
This practicing energy burns the tongue to silence;
The knowing pen is disabled, servile paper
Shrivels in the fire of Love. Bald reason too is an ass
Explaining Love, deceived by spoilt lucidity.
Love is dangerous offering no consolation,
Only those who are ravaged by Love know Love,
The sun alone unveils the sun to those who have
The sense to receive the senseless and not turn away.
Cavernous shadows need the light to play but light
And light alone can lead you to the light alone.
Material shadows weigh down your vision with dross,
But the rising sun splits the ashen moon in empty half.
THe outer sun is our daily miracle in timely
Birth and death, the inner sun
Dazzles the inner eye in a timeless space.
Our daily sun is but a working star in a galaxy of stars,
Our inner sun is One, the dancing nuance of eternal light.
You must be set alight by the inner sun,
You have to live your Love or else
You'll only end in words.

M. Jelaluddin (Rumi)

Inner and Outer Worlds

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:19:34 -0000

Man models himself after Earth
Earth models itself after Heaven
Heaven models itself after the Tao
And the Tao is full and complete.
*
The creative principle unifies
the inner and external worlds.
It does not depend on time or space,
is ever still and yet in motion;
thereby it creates all things,
and is therefore called
’the creative and the absolute’;
its ebb and its flow extend to infinity.
We describe the Tao as being great;
we describe the universe as great;
nature too, we describe as great,
and man himself is great.
Man’s laws should follow natural laws,
just as nature gives rise to physical laws,
whilst following from universal law,
which follows the Tao.

The natural way is the way of the sage,
serving as his dwelling,
providing his centre deep within,
whether in his home or journeying.
Even when he travels far,
he is not separate
from his own true nature.
Maintaining awareness of natural beauty,
he still does not forget his purpose.
Although he may dwell in a grand estate,
simplicity remains his guide,
for he is full aware, that losing it,
his roots as well would disappear.
So he is not restless,
lest he loses the natural way.
Similarly, the people’s leader
is not flippant in his role, nor restless,
for these could cause the loss
of the roots of leadership.

The sage follows the natural way,
doing what is required of him.
Like an experienced tracker,
he leaves no tracks;
like a good speaker, his speech is fluent;
He makes no error, so needs no tally;
like a good door, which needs no lock,
he is open when it is required of him,
and closed at other times;
like a good binding, he is secure,
without the need of borders.
Knowing that virtue may grow from example,
this is the way in which the sage teaches,
abandoning no one who stops to listen.
Thus, from experience of the sage,
all might learn, and so might gain.
There is mutual respect twixt teacher and pupil,
for, without respect, there would be confusion.

Whilst developing creativity,
also cultivate receptivity.
Retain the mind like that of a child,
which flows like running water.
When considering any thing,
do not lose its opposite.
When thinking of the finite,
do not forget infinity;
Act with honour, but retain humility.
By acting according to the way of the Tao,
set others an example.
By retaining the integrity
of the inner and external worlds,
true selfhood is maintained,
and the inner world made fertile.

Thinkin' of a Master Plan...

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:05:31 -0000