tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-344351832024-02-23T00:08:17.437+08:00O w n e r l e s s - M i n dRefuting the mystical, metaphysical concept of the existence of individual, discrete selves (while bearing in a non existent mind, that there is no universally accepted theory as to what the word "existence" means)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger614125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-10833488986495693262023-04-26T22:47:00.002+08:002023-04-26T22:50:29.230+08:00Mozart as a Child<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklCsJDqdEIEDMhQ02lHNhO2oNplTw8fLbFjq6HbZ-BLhSTxIFjAQbmFmvzJ_tuS2ylSkGcy8tkZtkNlVAsbAIEVpLSJ9ZKLuWNUAElzut3MlSamNdrfoFhy_2xG2qpeTuT7dXS1RfjottpfBCCXOJH8uMWbXJJIwxPjdzXU4WPJjVM74SEA/s2312/GB%20edit%20restore,%20Jean-Baptiste%20Greuze,%20Mozart%20Yale%20Uni%20Art%20Gallery.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2312" data-original-width="2311" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklCsJDqdEIEDMhQ02lHNhO2oNplTw8fLbFjq6HbZ-BLhSTxIFjAQbmFmvzJ_tuS2ylSkGcy8tkZtkNlVAsbAIEVpLSJ9ZKLuWNUAElzut3MlSamNdrfoFhy_2xG2qpeTuT7dXS1RfjottpfBCCXOJH8uMWbXJJIwxPjdzXU4WPJjVM74SEA/s400/GB%20edit%20restore,%20Jean-Baptiste%20Greuze,%20Mozart%20Yale%20Uni%20Art%20Gallery.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Portrait of Mozart, detail</td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-41225311161037222002022-06-06T04:04:00.004+08:002022-06-06T04:07:18.821+08:00The Chakras As Centres of Influence Through History<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodNJccL1is5uodvAp6XFRoZ47bHy30NuZo08fHJBFYOu79zGcIeDsbEalM5LYyUO64W-r1UhgFGwXY0tn5sRxY-_UeyF5vRhfYCuZZ8eUAD3jHapPze9lLu7iTD7jp2fIn8y5Zz9esA-6xZ6hZb9LsT9skalKq8CBneu5SWqWt3L9vwy4hA/s1877/seven%20chakras%20as%20centres%20of%20Influence.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1877" data-original-width="1877" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodNJccL1is5uodvAp6XFRoZ47bHy30NuZo08fHJBFYOu79zGcIeDsbEalM5LYyUO64W-r1UhgFGwXY0tn5sRxY-_UeyF5vRhfYCuZZ8eUAD3jHapPze9lLu7iTD7jp2fIn8y5Zz9esA-6xZ6hZb9LsT9skalKq8CBneu5SWqWt3L9vwy4hA/w400-h400/seven%20chakras%20as%20centres%20of%20Influence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has identified the various regions of the Earth that correspond to the seven Chakras, the Kundalini, and the Void. I noticed that the succession of Empires and cultures throughout history seems to follow a path of ascent through the chakras, but in a serpentine fashion, alternating from left to right. And I thought to make this tentative diagram. I am not making any judgments here about the morality of these empires and superpowers, they each had their day in the sun, then dissolved, though some of their influence continued. The concept of a world government is controversial, I know. I see the final, future Sahasrara stage, not as an authoritarian 'New World Order', but as a spiritual union of equals, various countries and cultures, with, perhaps, a centre of government in the Himalayan region, where the large, populous nations: China, the former Soviet Union and India meet. </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Note: the Left Agnya is on the right side of the head, as the Ida Nadi and Pingala Nadis cross over at the sixth centre. The Australian aborigines did not have an empire as such, but their culture and deep spirituality arose many thousands of years ago, and must have had a subtle influence on the development of humankind. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please feel free to share this diagram, but please do not remove the credit. Thanks.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-11588377350894562702022-04-26T07:14:00.001+08:002022-04-26T07:14:23.833+08:00Hildegard von Bingen, Sequence for the Holy Spirit <div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">O mighty course that runs within and through<br />the all—up in the heights, upon the earth,<br />and in the every depth—<br />you bind and gather all together.<br /><br />From you the clouds flow forth, the wind takes flight,<br />the stones their moisture hold,<br />the waters rivers spring,<br />and earth viridity exudes.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">-Hildegard von Bingen, <i>Sequence for the Holy Spirit, </i>excerpt,<i style="caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65); color: #414141;"> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65); color: #414141;">translation by Nathaniel M. Campbell</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #414141; font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65);"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65); color: #414141;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbEFPb52I4XZ9ve4ofE9-i4ANh7ipVeHEjW9o2vnx3qXzegxHCtPkNDVBpIHb3eY9WDco9_Ppay0-QesAolV3dzARwdRNAiqiN1RCxkvt85bKoOWZcodSArJJPCN_Q8Zz2pi8m95wu07ehMk8uXUczqFLAnot4BOui_eSMaKHtlRZ5cyesw/s540/Snow%20Flurries,%20North%20Shore%20of%20Lake%20Superior,%20Franklin%20Carmichael%20copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="540" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbEFPb52I4XZ9ve4ofE9-i4ANh7ipVeHEjW9o2vnx3qXzegxHCtPkNDVBpIHb3eY9WDco9_Ppay0-QesAolV3dzARwdRNAiqiN1RCxkvt85bKoOWZcodSArJJPCN_Q8Zz2pi8m95wu07ehMk8uXUczqFLAnot4BOui_eSMaKHtlRZ5cyesw/s320/Snow%20Flurries,%20North%20Shore%20of%20Lake%20Superior,%20Franklin%20Carmichael%20copy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Franklin Carmichael </td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-8214986525311837192021-12-19T01:06:00.001+11:002021-12-19T01:06:10.632+11:00Exchange between Sri Dnyanadeva and His Teacher <p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHhHrO8qSAfBF76lliApbZ8tasDyJEswlgv8QQag595e8s9xJ03RLfP0yYf_kJZh6Q2blJUJDXErshfb5R4GhKuIZbw886DgYUjb9L_IaplErdXUhXPuCJeIQ7Zi10NbuZybc84ec5zqafBurDFwODNrcevMKXRif8X0df0XovhRiIe1yHjA=s936" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="747" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHhHrO8qSAfBF76lliApbZ8tasDyJEswlgv8QQag595e8s9xJ03RLfP0yYf_kJZh6Q2blJUJDXErshfb5R4GhKuIZbw886DgYUjb9L_IaplErdXUhXPuCJeIQ7Zi10NbuZybc84ec5zqafBurDFwODNrcevMKXRif8X0df0XovhRiIe1yHjA=w319-h400" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sant Jnanadeva</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nivruttinath says, Oh Dnyanadeva, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">you are purified by Self-realisation.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">By understanding the Self, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">you and your devotion have become</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">one with the Universe. </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The doubts and division </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">between you and God </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">have disappeared.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Reigning in your mind, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">God has appeared in your heart. </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Now with His omnipresence, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">there is no emptiness.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nivruttinath says, Oh Dnyanadeva, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">you are purified by Self-realisation.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The brightness of this light of knowledge </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">has outshined everything else in this world,</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">and the flames of desires inside you </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">are extinguished.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nivruttinath says, Oh Dnyanadeva, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">you are purified by Self-realisation.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">With the disappearance of these desires, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">the whole world is filled with God’s presence.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nivruttinath says, Oh Dnyanadeva, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">you are purified by Self-realisation.</span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dnyanadeva says, with the ultimate teachings </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">of Nivruttinath, </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dnyanadeva realised complete </span></p><p style="color: #363636; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.4px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">mercy and contentment</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-15566477730914127522021-11-09T15:37:00.011+11:002021-11-10T01:50:48.051+11:00Wilderness Awakening<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaksWjzwwBwofAp280qlwHFhwPsyOKPMx9eCFVqd8zZRB_ThXtPsHuRAmIcY2lzNjRXLADu-VSTR81boJbL-mR8BoNk2d6kurfO27tD7BJ_sPVvfZCfaJdDzZF3LucQTlI-O1/s1200/P_Il_FishSchool.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaksWjzwwBwofAp280qlwHFhwPsyOKPMx9eCFVqd8zZRB_ThXtPsHuRAmIcY2lzNjRXLADu-VSTR81boJbL-mR8BoNk2d6kurfO27tD7BJ_sPVvfZCfaJdDzZF3LucQTlI-O1/s400/P_Il_FishSchool.jpg"/></a></div>
"one day Ross was in a slightly different part of the ocean, swimming on his own. He was on the west coast of Cape Town, where the water is even colder than his usual swimming spot.
A huge school of fish swam up to him and circled him. "In marine protected areas, these fish are very calm around people because they're not hunted and they're actually incredibly friendly," Ross says.
"I was just totally absorbed in this experience of these beautiful fish just swimming all around me; [I was] quite enchanted."
Then the cold started to bite, and he returned to the beach. Sitting there in the sun to warm up, Ross says, "the strangest thing happened, [which] hasn't happened since".
"I heard this voice in my head saying, 'Don't be scared'.
"And then these waves of flames just came up through my body and straight out of the top of my head. And it was an awakening. I just knew that I was awake now for the first time.""
Read full article here:<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-09/ross-frylink-craig-foster-cold-water-swimming-in-south-africa/100584846"></a>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-09/ross-frylink-craig-foster-cold-water-swimming-in-south-africa/100584846Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-15169242657986387912021-10-27T14:41:00.006+11:002021-10-27T15:16:13.018+11:00Seeing Swirling Commas of Light in the Sky<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwxmbYgYQn3ukojv6wcdwiD6Gz7LU2ghuOZT6sGocyEiRwyYGF9B5pPU-xWs0Z29A7GNHvmbNjZLK2ggPk1Wo9mlQOL7BvLoVhphpJjQfI9ASbonIK9NtT-iBqpozlEoy4xqu/s640/tumblr_66fa6cfd6de0ab38d8c29771311e7dc1_d97edf1c_640.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwxmbYgYQn3ukojv6wcdwiD6Gz7LU2ghuOZT6sGocyEiRwyYGF9B5pPU-xWs0Z29A7GNHvmbNjZLK2ggPk1Wo9mlQOL7BvLoVhphpJjQfI9ASbonIK9NtT-iBqpozlEoy4xqu/s400/tumblr_66fa6cfd6de0ab38d8c29771311e7dc1_d97edf1c_640.jpg"/></a></div>Sometimes when we look at a blue sky we can see swirling, dancing commas of light. This is a common phenomenon
known to ophthalmologists and is called the blue field entropic phenomenon. We are seeing the white blood cells in the retina. Everything in the physical body has a spiritual significance, and the white blood cells
represent what are called in Sanskrit <a href="https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/moving-spots-in-blue-sky"></a>the <i>ganas</i>, or protective beings who defend the body from disease. So in a sense, I guess you could say you are seeing angels.
From Wikipedia:
In Hinduism, the Gaṇas are attendants of Shiva and live on Mount Kailash. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title gaṇeśa or gaṇapati, "lord or leader of the ganas".
<a href="https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/moving-spots-in-blue-sky"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-52500179639613742612021-10-04T03:55:00.004+11:002021-10-04T03:55:57.230+11:00Hildegard von Bingen's Vision of the Divine Feminine<p style="font-family: Verdana; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>She is so bright and glorious that you cannot look at Her face or Her garments for the splendour with which She shines. For She is terrible with the terror of the avenging lightning, and gentle with the goodness of the bright sun; and both Her terror and Her gentleness are incomprehensible to humans . . . . But She is with everyone and in everyone, and so beautiful is Her secret that no person can know the sweetness with which She sustains people, and spares them in inscrutable mercy.</i></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">- Hildegard von Bingen’s vision of the Feminine Divine, from <i>Scivias</i>, III, 4.15, translated by Mother Columba Hart, O.S.B. and Jane Bishop</span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fC-0DvM7pRirOp1R3KRdT2IIOOjJQucp-Px7gxXHIjqCmPxgmllRdk8S5hJiNpWJiY48CIqLWd6VwaokUOiRIPkNp4-lktBFdBjhvtZKvAJI4b1Fu_M9V8dvHrKY5obp-tDb/s2048/hildegard_von_bingen-scivias_i.6-_the_choirs_of_angels-1150-obelisk-art-history.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1748" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fC-0DvM7pRirOp1R3KRdT2IIOOjJQucp-Px7gxXHIjqCmPxgmllRdk8S5hJiNpWJiY48CIqLWd6VwaokUOiRIPkNp4-lktBFdBjhvtZKvAJI4b1Fu_M9V8dvHrKY5obp-tDb/w341-h400/hildegard_von_bingen-scivias_i.6-_the_choirs_of_angels-1150-obelisk-art-history.jpg" width="341" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-42817327522185333562021-08-10T20:57:00.001+08:002021-08-10T22:24:22.490+08:00Chakra Scroll<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p6p9BZX6tDkKTYvp3rSbeVjI9k-x9gBrrs3fAcR33ER7F6ltrWsp0NPjwk_7bzx98UO6SvVE8aq03Hi_6KJyciYVTMNaVOBIw4EMVPq-UhG1KjNo_Ymyg3OVbCIy5h0Tr-9c/s2048/chakra+scroll%252C+highest+state%252C+VAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1830" data-original-width="2048" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0p6p9BZX6tDkKTYvp3rSbeVjI9k-x9gBrrs3fAcR33ER7F6ltrWsp0NPjwk_7bzx98UO6SvVE8aq03Hi_6KJyciYVTMNaVOBIw4EMVPq-UhG1KjNo_Ymyg3OVbCIy5h0Tr-9c/w400-h358/chakra+scroll%252C+highest+state%252C+VAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljlTGmXfuh4qjCMWszaPPeb-Uos9iEOqOaUV86tRFFkMreqQgUlUWy2HN-r1DrRwUSdRnaGfwNMV1aVRyGCria99sDca3h76y0DssbqVxAak9mpFf_zD-ra4eAOdS80uUFe5D/s2048/Sahasrara%252C+chakra+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1787" data-original-width="2048" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljlTGmXfuh4qjCMWszaPPeb-Uos9iEOqOaUV86tRFFkMreqQgUlUWy2HN-r1DrRwUSdRnaGfwNMV1aVRyGCria99sDca3h76y0DssbqVxAak9mpFf_zD-ra4eAOdS80uUFe5D/w400-h349/Sahasrara%252C+chakra+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsfmrmO5BTUziW0n0PMNC_J7qyCZfUygksfVxTdtrXbYZnyGG73EuIZxlKY_7lEyYy8D4hrzwgVaVtelVsPOLQ6btQIrHIOJshzM9sKM8zTsUgMgJLmDmCJVxxVk8PBOtO9k8/s2048/Anahata+Chakra%252C+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="2048" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsfmrmO5BTUziW0n0PMNC_J7qyCZfUygksfVxTdtrXbYZnyGG73EuIZxlKY_7lEyYy8D4hrzwgVaVtelVsPOLQ6btQIrHIOJshzM9sKM8zTsUgMgJLmDmCJVxxVk8PBOtO9k8/w400-h341/Anahata+Chakra%252C+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tsYinV6AOtcx2HjXK9y3XOfogzlcrxj3SE0gZnETThYeGWkCRC8m3mZMxuupIlI1f0bENOLMiNZKV2V5hb7i9_nW9dEOyWdeldGQCTO-vNP5UNFAhfALjYtsnxG6xgYnrHhZ/s2048/Nabhi+Chakra%252C+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1731" data-original-width="2048" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tsYinV6AOtcx2HjXK9y3XOfogzlcrxj3SE0gZnETThYeGWkCRC8m3mZMxuupIlI1f0bENOLMiNZKV2V5hb7i9_nW9dEOyWdeldGQCTO-vNP5UNFAhfALjYtsnxG6xgYnrHhZ/w400-h338/Nabhi+Chakra%252C+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ke61AodKyfr3QhB2hSZL6u6thYakIB9YLlCtRfXmbiC0VoOrix0cdR3b_pQSLknjMC2UhXOqG8U97cIygSq1DAukY56DBj0sB2TD3m_pmWhhVBYAge1juqFp4HzrZTA6O0rk/s1628/Swadisthana+Chakra%252C+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="1628" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ke61AodKyfr3QhB2hSZL6u6thYakIB9YLlCtRfXmbiC0VoOrix0cdR3b_pQSLknjMC2UhXOqG8U97cIygSq1DAukY56DBj0sB2TD3m_pmWhhVBYAge1juqFp4HzrZTA6O0rk/w400-h390/Swadisthana+Chakra%252C+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFUq6Ls2mraFPuGqyYjmHFonsD9bUA_KRmoMfY1n3P8gVMoDxnFaN8P3SydM7P_aqiPwHYbCAkhwaANA4c47z07itPE1VDpWa1Nepz9P1E7mRgNSGeOm6OGJkVQKS0q8ngbeM/s746/Kundalini%252C+chakra+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="746" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFUq6Ls2mraFPuGqyYjmHFonsD9bUA_KRmoMfY1n3P8gVMoDxnFaN8P3SydM7P_aqiPwHYbCAkhwaANA4c47z07itPE1VDpWa1Nepz9P1E7mRgNSGeOm6OGJkVQKS0q8ngbeM/w400-h395/Kundalini%252C+chakra+scroll%252C+VAM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>Chakra scroll, Kashmir, early 19th century, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.<br /><br />The top image represents the state above the Sahasrara Chakra called <i>Pralaya, </i>the<i> </i>dissolution of the universe before it is recreated. <div>The sage Markandeya is shown worshipping Lord Vishnu in the form of an infant sucking his toe (symbolising the sweetness of surrendering to the Lotus Feet of the Divine). All that exists is The Self (Lord Vishnu), the ocean of existence (pure undifferentiated being), a banyan tree (representing Self-knowledge), and the sage (the witness).</div><div><br /></div><div>Other images are of some of the chakras.</div><div>The bottom image is of the Kundalini, the coiled spiritual energy which connects us with the All-pervading Supreme Self.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-61615572938084987462021-07-22T21:33:00.000+08:002021-07-22T21:33:10.974+08:00The Lady Truth<p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVDAO2HLlzcKcx1GAz_SUYZn8Vd314jF9dDFHrNt0Lkmwr9mSExqOF5MDwVDUGDwObrySMAqH72pyJeZgEPx2i8OmU9NgtaPx1ozP5SmQBeQ7IU84lgW7rcadgIBTEjX444Bh/s800/Petrarch+and+Laura+de+Noves%252C+Ashmolean+Museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="800" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVDAO2HLlzcKcx1GAz_SUYZn8Vd314jF9dDFHrNt0Lkmwr9mSExqOF5MDwVDUGDwObrySMAqH72pyJeZgEPx2i8OmU9NgtaPx1ozP5SmQBeQ7IU84lgW7rcadgIBTEjX444Bh/w400-h315/Petrarch+and+Laura+de+Noves%252C+Ashmolean+Museum.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petrarch and Laura de Noves, Ashmolean Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">“Often have I wondered with much curiosity as to our coming into this world and what will follow our departure. When I was ruminating lately on this matter, not in any dream as one in sickness and slumber, but wide awake and with all my wits about me, I was greatly astonished to behold a very beautiful Lady, shining with an indescribable light about her. She seemed as one whose beauty is not known, as it might be, to mankind. I could not tell how she came there, but from her raiment and appearance I judged her a fair Virgin, and her eyes, like the sun, seemed to send forth rays of such light that they made me lower my own before her, so that I was afraid to look up.”</span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">“it occurred to me this could be none other than Truth herself.”</span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">-Petrarch, <i>Secretus</i></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-13233308123717722092021-06-29T20:48:00.001+08:002021-06-29T20:49:14.818+08:00Milan Cathedral<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TAq3-t5aatg7mucACgTxnvnvrlwE8LRqg7uILcpIxKaJy6ohZRapbHjUokULvB8OtbwKM0F2Qyh1CkzRCmRaYJLIi_eQcUvFCb9hosUhF2prubNIu6QpHvjuyTxFrhVT0bcS/s368/GB+edit%252C+Milan+Cathedral.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="368" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TAq3-t5aatg7mucACgTxnvnvrlwE8LRqg7uILcpIxKaJy6ohZRapbHjUokULvB8OtbwKM0F2Qyh1CkzRCmRaYJLIi_eQcUvFCb9hosUhF2prubNIu6QpHvjuyTxFrhVT0bcS/w400-h400/GB+edit%252C+Milan+Cathedral.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose window of Milan Cathedral, with symbols of the Om, Shakti and Heart.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-65752835399349781732021-06-29T18:43:00.004+08:002021-06-29T19:49:58.248+08:00Angelus Silesius<div style="text-align: justify;">Angelus Silesius was a 17th century Christian mystic, native to Silesia, in what is now Poland, and was known as
<i>The Prophet of the Ineffable</i>. He composed spiritual epigrams mostly in the form of couplets written in German, and was influenced by his reading of medieval mystics such as Meister Eckhart
and Jan van Ruysbroeck. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the English translations I have seen of his epigrams are very outdated, and sometimes horribly contorted in order to make them rhyme in English.
I think Silesius wrote them as rhyming verses, but it's not always possible to translate such concise rhyming couplets into another
language successfully. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here are some renderings I've made from them, some freer than others in adherence to the originals. They are not intended to be
accurate translations, and I didn't try to make them rhyme.
I was struck by the similarity of some of Angelus's poems to Indian mystical writing. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Search within yourself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The Philosopher’s Stone, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the key to transformation, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">cannot be found outside. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The entire Universe, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Heaven, Hell and Earth, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">are all within you. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Whatever you desire, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">you already have. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The world does not contain you; </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">you contain the world. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">You are yourself the world </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and you contain nothing but yourself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God is no thing. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">He is untouched
by time or matter </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God is heard in silence, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and is best worshipped in silence. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The saint does not look forward
to a heaven in an afterlife; </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">he lives in heaven now. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">You cannot enter heaven; </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">heaven is who you are. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Before there was a sense of a separate I, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">there was only Universal Being. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And when the separateness disintegrates, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">you will know you are that Universal Being. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Time is timeless; </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">it is only the mind that
tries </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">to measure what is measureless. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God is gold hidden in river sand, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and love is river water, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">washing God into view. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The rose has no rationale, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">it simply blooms. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Joy can only be experienced </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">by dissolving the sense of ‘I’ and ‘other’ </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in the ocean of Unity. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Love is a faster way to God than knowledge. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God pours Himself out into Creation
for Eternity, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">yet He is undiminished. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Without rebirth we are like rivers </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">which turn back from the ocean. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Theologians form different schools
to describe God, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">but the school of the Spirit within you
teaches you to know God. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">When the human heart
becomes attuned to God, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the whole everlasting cosmos
becomes a bell that rings. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Those who know God’s depths
also attain His peaks. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We think a child foolish
for crying over a broken doll, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">but are the things we covet
any more alive than a doll? </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">When you heart is pulled
neither by attraction nor aversion,
it rests in God. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The richness and vastness of God
is like an undiscovered continent. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Even if God was to be born
a thousand times to Mary,
in Bethlehem, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">it would do you no good
if you do not bear Him within yourself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The saint knows that all possessions
are nothing but himself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The owner of the world’s greatest treasure
is poorer than a beggar </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">if he sees that treasure as other than himself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God is one without an other. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">To know God, the knower must know
that he is one with the known. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A loaf contains many grains, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and the sea countless drops; </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">so is God both one and many. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The All emerges from the One </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and to the One the All returns. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">If you do not become reborn in God </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">you do not value His birth in Bethlehem, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and if your separateness does not die, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">His death at Golgotha will not save you. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God and Self are one. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">If the Self ceased to exist </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">God would cease to exist.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq7LLD_vD_EL2mnOnK6rQ5TTirxWLuHWiWzk0MsYkceCyfXqTdmS1nH-1ZqRhDQUtibLjmf2DepYp1hajspbh8Z7fRC238TyMBWIyoN1-iBSFpDu1V-910qUtM_IZzuLWTQKt/s400/N2006-MarRos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="400" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq7LLD_vD_EL2mnOnK6rQ5TTirxWLuHWiWzk0MsYkceCyfXqTdmS1nH-1ZqRhDQUtibLjmf2DepYp1hajspbh8Z7fRC238TyMBWIyoN1-iBSFpDu1V-910qUtM_IZzuLWTQKt/w400-h380/N2006-MarRos.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose Window, Milan Cathedral</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-77998260479007796022021-05-04T18:24:00.001+08:002021-05-04T18:24:13.120+08:00Poplars<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHV9sAOC8Mm-sa14wqGAI2qKuUdGvMnRnbz8AzebOMNqynjdBtt8e-7j2RTyFP0FNuEX78wBZKObUqcm3of9FEYP1KLio0sNmeMrGNUTDk7wx4Di4Z28NUA9Uq3H6jybSqUht/s1755/Richard+Herold%252C+Poplars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1755" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHV9sAOC8Mm-sa14wqGAI2qKuUdGvMnRnbz8AzebOMNqynjdBtt8e-7j2RTyFP0FNuEX78wBZKObUqcm3of9FEYP1KLio0sNmeMrGNUTDk7wx4Di4Z28NUA9Uq3H6jybSqUht/w291-h400/Richard+Herold%252C+Poplars.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Herold, Poplars<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5bka8fHnk8ztHlCbkSIhPHAmcP4_nN3SuzYTGasuQinEXsy4BUs-glioeLLQXNlbwqWhvq0PkQR5LXLC4xb-V23SrzWBEwegtxkQbn7fuzBreDNrKIHfxgh2UVtyokrqTe_C/s1750/Oskar+Kaubisch-Cavertitz%252C+Pappelallee+am+Weg+nach+Scho%25CC%2588na%252C+um+1930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1750" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5bka8fHnk8ztHlCbkSIhPHAmcP4_nN3SuzYTGasuQinEXsy4BUs-glioeLLQXNlbwqWhvq0PkQR5LXLC4xb-V23SrzWBEwegtxkQbn7fuzBreDNrKIHfxgh2UVtyokrqTe_C/w293-h400/Oskar+Kaubisch-Cavertitz%252C+Pappelallee+am+Weg+nach+Scho%25CC%2588na%252C+um+1930.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oskar Kaubisch-Cavertitz, Pappelallee am Weg nach Schöna, um 1930</td></tr></tbody></table> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-74945088254565138072021-05-04T16:50:00.003+08:002021-05-04T17:57:59.866+08:00The Singular Substance<br /><span style="font-size: large;">Spinoza believed that there is only one substance to reality, and that this singlular Substance is God/Nature, the immanent, not the transitive cause of all things’ and ‘absolutely infinite’. <br /><br />Indian Advaita philosophy also posits that God and the world are one and the same. The Western mind has difficulty with the concept that God is immanent and not separate from world and Self, but Spinoza's Substance Monism gives Monotheism its true meaning: there is no being but God.</span><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-3cwHDMr8oHW_OMzDYbdi-rqh08NCFjPndAPRmOyRwfz_oVyXVofNGGzNnB32WxZPSWcsvdoyq8z4HRbzgghPnR4RdRfYdZB2eWyCgckocxPcI71aFtWoa-Th8RY2PTx-1mK/s750/spinoza.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="750" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-3cwHDMr8oHW_OMzDYbdi-rqh08NCFjPndAPRmOyRwfz_oVyXVofNGGzNnB32WxZPSWcsvdoyq8z4HRbzgghPnR4RdRfYdZB2eWyCgckocxPcI71aFtWoa-Th8RY2PTx-1mK/w400-h224/spinoza.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baruch Spinoza</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>"The more you struggle to live, the less you live.</span><span> </span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">Give up the notion that you must be sure of what you are doing. </span><div><span><span style="font-size: large;">Instead, <u>surrender to what is real within you</u>, <br />for that alone is sure….<br />you are above everything distressing."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">- Baruch Spinoza</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-38517671012575870182021-01-28T01:18:00.001+11:002021-01-28T01:18:26.748+11:00DADIRRI <iframe style="background-image:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tow2tR_ezL8/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/tow2tR_ezL8" frameborder="0"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-43731068780447921512021-01-01T02:19:00.000+11:002021-01-01T02:19:10.775+11:00Saga of the Oak<p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Everything is part of me,</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Firmament and moving sea;</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I of all that is am part,</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Stone and star and human heart.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Primal Cause etern, self-wrought,</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Majesty transcending thought.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-William H. Venable</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #444444; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fw8OkLBcOSBXjBxCbcx0S20LbvVRs255P7rV83KubcWW8XFeG-GqAUxFoe2wyjf2ScAvDWVKcwfatEa6cri2r-N_qB1pZfSvu4IfanUuckPQyt91JksrR1RBDW5ZJt5o7mV9/s1418/caruswoodedislandbaltic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #274e13; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="1418" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fw8OkLBcOSBXjBxCbcx0S20LbvVRs255P7rV83KubcWW8XFeG-GqAUxFoe2wyjf2ScAvDWVKcwfatEa6cri2r-N_qB1pZfSvu4IfanUuckPQyt91JksrR1RBDW5ZJt5o7mV9/w400-h288/caruswoodedislandbaltic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-small;">Carl Gustav Carus (1789–1869), Memory of a Wooded Island in the Baltic Sea (Oak trees by the Sea) (1834-35), oil on canvas, 117.5 x 162.5 cm, Galerie Neue Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Wikimedia Commons.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-13765704938600637112020-09-27T16:10:00.000+08:002020-09-27T16:10:48.912+08:00Shri Nanakiji<p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ir2pWjYU9-kGb6WitHipq6Ek4787nhJHl8RSOTrhc8JdkXuJG3wkeZCmbofgetiGMKyopfCXr42UupzqPIz-4Otg4tEsNQO9lyIO5wnAWje-s_qLEraWvkAu1RxHYIipUjmK/s1947/Bibi-Nanaki-Baba-Nanak%252C+GB+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1947" data-original-width="1947" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ir2pWjYU9-kGb6WitHipq6Ek4787nhJHl8RSOTrhc8JdkXuJG3wkeZCmbofgetiGMKyopfCXr42UupzqPIz-4Otg4tEsNQO9lyIO5wnAWje-s_qLEraWvkAu1RxHYIipUjmK/w400-h400/Bibi-Nanaki-Baba-Nanak%252C+GB+edit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanaka and Nanaki, digital edit, by Jeronimus, of Indian calendar art<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Shri Nanakiji (Bibi Nanaki ji) was the older sister of Shri Guru Nanakaji, the founder of the Sikh religion.</p><p>She recognised her brother's holiness, from his infancy, and became a protective mother figure to him. She encouraged her brother's spiritual life, and was his first follower (the first Sikh). She suggested that he use music as a vehicle for spreading his teaching.</p><p>Shri Mataji has identified Nanaki as an incarnation of the Goddess, Devi. Shri Devi is the fiercely protective warrior aspect of the Goddess, but sometimes she takes birth as a close relative of great spiritual masters, to give them support in a quieter role.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-63360659575773358622020-08-12T13:49:00.000+08:002020-08-12T13:49:46.924+08:00Devi Mahatmyam Audio Book<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iX8nffbwU2c" width="320" youtube-src-id="iX8nffbwU2c"></iframe></div> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-44928270634925525312020-05-22T03:45:00.000+08:002020-05-22T03:52:14.065+08:00The Divine Feminine as Wisdom in the Bible<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
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Despite the devotion expressed towards Her in the Bible, the Feminine aspect of God has been neglected in the Christian churches (particularly the Protestant churches), some would say, to their detriment. This is no doubt due to the bias of an all male priesthood.</div>
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She is personified as Wisdom in <i>The Book of Proverbs</i>, in the Old Testament, and invoked in <i>The Book of Wisdom</i>, which is considered canonical, and part of the Old Testament, by the Catholic and Orthodox churches, though not by all Protestants.</div>
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She is described as having existed before the Creation (perhaps always) and as the agent through which it was achieved. She is considered to be the Breath of God, and the manifestation of His power. Like the Holy Spirit (who some believe is the same being, and therefore a feminine, motherly aspect of the Holy Trinity) She is present in those who have the pure desire for God.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For She is the breath of the power of God, <br />and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty: <br />therefore no defiled thing can fall into Her. <br />For She is the brightness of the everlasting light, <br />the unspotted mirror of the power of God, <br />and the image of His goodness. <br />And being but one, She can do all things: <br />and remaining in Herself, She makes all things new: <br />and in all ages entering into holy souls, <br />She makes them friends of God, and prophets.</i></span><br />
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-The Book of Wisdom 7:25-27<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNaOOyvz2EsOyzC-irJG3DJ0Cc4yO5UlkRUMG9gmATPRQ50t5L-EZkq49JjTu_Wmz6cVywMWsPel7ey3cOEOZfy8xi_8k969olk0DszQHdPTcLKNfshdO5QH1nB-BMr4ETtfr/s1600/LucaGiordano%252C+Allegory+of+Divine+Wisdom.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNaOOyvz2EsOyzC-irJG3DJ0Cc4yO5UlkRUMG9gmATPRQ50t5L-EZkq49JjTu_Wmz6cVywMWsPel7ey3cOEOZfy8xi_8k969olk0DszQHdPTcLKNfshdO5QH1nB-BMr4ETtfr/s400/LucaGiordano%252C+Allegory+of+Divine+Wisdom.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Luca Giordano, Allegory of Divine Wisdom, National Gallery, London (detail) <br /><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-27532847857360092302020-04-10T22:54:00.002+08:002021-01-28T03:20:02.291+11:00Jupiter<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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In the ancient Hindu philosophical system of correlates, the planet Jupiter represents the aspect of the Divine as Guru - spiritual teacher and upholder of Dharma. When we awaken this principle within us, we develop wisdom, discipline, and self mastery.</div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">Brihaspati was a sage mentioned in the Vedas. He was the teacher or guru of all the gods. In time he became associated with the planet Jupiter. It is sometimes said that Jupiter is the Earth's protector. Its immense gravity field absorbing comets that could have wiped out life. The guru principle gives a person gravitas and dignity. Brihaspati is often depicted riding an elephant, the animal which best embodies this quality. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">The Sanskrit word </span><i style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">guru</i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">, means ’weighty and venerable’, and is probably related to the</span> <span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">Latin </span><i style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">gravitas</i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">, from </span><i style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;">gravis,</i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px;"> meaning ‘heavy’.</span><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Shri Mataji has explained that Jupiter is the planet for the area of the subtle system known as the Void - bhava sagara in Sanskrit. Bhava sagara can be translated as 'Ocean of Worldly Existence' or 'Ocean of Illusion'. If we become lost in attachments to aspects of life, we fall into confusion. The inner master is the navigator who takes us across this ocean. In the subtle body this Void is located around the navel chakra at the centre of the body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Jupiter takes approximately 12 years to complete a circuit of the Sun. A "Jupiter return", is a time when the planet is at the same position as it was at the time of birth. It therefore happens at the age of 12, 24, 36, 48 and so on. These are times in which there is an expansion of life's opportunities and sense of self-mastery.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-64093702316776545392020-04-10T21:31:00.000+08:002020-04-10T21:31:20.651+08:00To Pass into It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigP2Ydm89BwY7lfdDOybYfExN5OeXoD06moBdrWB92cgvt8Ke6bDsZJADZFR8fTm58KMOhgj0GRpXbfKAR-spGubey3R-leXjBXQDy7myi9y3rQ0HXNRFMwI6fF0LpWmTIdkJa/s1600/tumblr_p9b78qmqt21rzadffo1_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="540" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigP2Ydm89BwY7lfdDOybYfExN5OeXoD06moBdrWB92cgvt8Ke6bDsZJADZFR8fTm58KMOhgj0GRpXbfKAR-spGubey3R-leXjBXQDy7myi9y3rQ0HXNRFMwI6fF0LpWmTIdkJa/s400/tumblr_p9b78qmqt21rzadffo1_540.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-54084217862016344372020-03-24T15:27:00.001+08:002020-03-24T15:34:24.790+08:00Remember You Are This Universe<div class="reblog-title" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: gibson, "helvetica neue", helveticaneue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 47px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Remember</span><span style="font-size: 36px;"> </span></div>
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Remember the sky that you were born under,</div>
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know each of the star’s stories.<br />
Remember the moon, know who she is.<br />
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the<br />
strongest point of time. Remember sundown<br />
and the giving away to night.<br />
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled<br />
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of<br />
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.<br />
Remember your father. He is your life, also.<br />
Remember the earth whose skin you are:<br />
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth<br />
brown earth, we are earth.<br />
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their<br />
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,<br />
listen to them. They are alive poems.<br />
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the<br />
origin of this universe.<br />
Remember you are all people and all people<br />
are you.<br />
Remember you are this universe and this<br />
universe is you.<br />
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.<br />
Remember language comes from this.<br />
Remember the dance language is, that life is.<br />
Remember.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1cp0Ez8xIcmB_21Bqorf_ijj502o9NJishcLHcvcCA3FZ8SobIcxTTvU0owQI1oVrmV8K6g2BPCs5-YXJsE1dRp0MUbAm3sVgqqwb09WhrWbmi6eiALwJWxXGlmMYX-vaF6E/s1600/sq%252C+Widayat%252C+Adam+and+Eve+in+Paradise%252C+1970%252C+145+x+130+cm%252C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC1cp0Ez8xIcmB_21Bqorf_ijj502o9NJishcLHcvcCA3FZ8SobIcxTTvU0owQI1oVrmV8K6g2BPCs5-YXJsE1dRp0MUbAm3sVgqqwb09WhrWbmi6eiALwJWxXGlmMYX-vaF6E/s320/sq%252C+Widayat%252C+Adam+and+Eve+in+Paradise%252C+1970%252C+145+x+130+cm%252C.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Widayat, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden</td></tr>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Joy Harjo </span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Joy Harjo was appointed the new United States poet laureate in 2019. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1951, Harjo is a member of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation. She is the author of several books of poetry, including An American Sunrise, which is forthcoming from W. W. Norton in 2019, and Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings (W. W. Norton, 2015). She is a current Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-11698751125206318372019-12-23T13:51:00.000+11:002019-12-23T14:17:21.539+11:00Who Was The Buddha?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who am I? What is the Self? This is the most fundamental of questions.</div>
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Buddhism has the concept of <i>anatta</i> (no self) which is usually interpreted to mean that souls and selves do not exist. However, The Buddha may have meant that individual, discrete selves are an illusion, but there is a singular, undivided Self that can be realised by one who has awakened from the dream of separateness (ego). This interpretation makes The Buddha's teaching compatible with the Indian philosophy of Advaita (non-duality).</div>
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Buddhists believe in reincarnation, which suggests the existence of souls. It may be that The Buddha saw souls as merely subtler forms of the gross body, and not something one should identify with. Perhaps this is the intention of the anatta doctrine. Centuries later, the sage Shri Shankaracharya wrote his <i>Tad Niskala</i>, which states that who you are is not the body, or the sheaths of the subtle body (soul), but Shiva (the Self of all that exists). Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has said that Shri Shankaracharya was a reincarnation of The Buddha. Shankara encouraged devotion for the Adi Shakti, the feminine aspect of Shiva, the Universal Self, who manifests in each of us as the Kundalini. This is because, without Kundalini awakening, Self-realisation is not possible.</div>
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One might ask why The Buddha bothered to try to liberate people if he did not believe in souls, or selves. What would be the point of mere matter trying to enlighten mere matter? It's a good question. According to tradition, The Buddha did initially consider that perhaps teaching people about enlightenment would be a futile task. The answer may be that the Self, like the sun, must shine, no matter that there are clouds of ignorance and illusion. Suffering is due to the illusion of separateness, and this illusion should be dispelled, even if there are ultimately no 'others' who suffer.</div>
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The Buddhist scholar Alexander Wynne considers this issue, and also questions the emphasis on therapy in the contemporary offshoot of Buddhism, Mindfulness Meditation, in contrast to the Buddha's emphasis on Self-realisation as the main aim. In his article <i>Who Was The Buddha?</i>, he also tries to separate the mythical and historical figure of Gotama Buddha.</div>
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Read the article. <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/was-the-buddha-an-awakened-prince-or-a-humble-itinerant">here</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-22508412070035343032019-10-29T21:20:00.000+11:002019-10-29T21:25:58.501+11:00Nationalism<span style="font-size: large;">“National identity is the last bastion of the dispossessed. But the meaning of identity is now based on hatred, on hatred for those who are not the same.” </span><br /><br />― Umberto EcoUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-7477450337358194512019-10-29T19:49:00.000+11:002019-10-29T20:01:50.982+11:00Coping With Resurgent Nationalismby Pranabh Bardhan<br />
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Einstein had called nationalism ‘an infantile disease, the measles of mankind’. Many contemporary cosmopolitan liberals are similarly skeptical, contemptuous or dismissive, as its current epidemic rages all around the world particularly in the form of right-wing extremist or populist movements. While I understand the liberal attitude, I think it’ll be irresponsible of us to let the illiberals meanwhile hijack the idea of nationalism for their nefarious purpose. Nationalism is too passionate and historically explosive an issue to be left to their tender mercies. It is important to fight the virulent forms of the disease with an appropriate antidote and try to vaccinate as many as possible particularly in the younger generations.<br />
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<a href="https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2019/10/coping-with-resurgent-nationalism.html#more-168412">read more</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34435183.post-38577635989790993552019-10-25T05:04:00.001+11:002019-10-25T05:04:26.894+11:00Mary Oliver & Perugini, Peonies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0