Sadly, I must report they are not good. I am astounded at the headlines everytime I turn on the PC. The violence between humans, against each other seems to be escalating. Perhaps it is as I have long suspected: the level and speed of reporting makes things seem worse. They in fact are not much different than history would show, save that no one wrote it down then- they were too busy trying not to die.
Sarcasm aside, I am personally pained by the number of strikes against other humans being made what seems to be daily now. Much of it is in the Middle and Near East, and it seems that religion is often an inciting force. It is a shame that something which should help us be better people is fast becoming the single largest cause of war. It was bad enough when we fought over resources and land. Now we fight over ideologies, differences of opinion that can change from person to person, much less country to country. Even those who call themselves members of the same religion take very little provocation before they strike out at one another. It is getting beyond scary. In my own city, rapes, house invasions, murders are becoming the standard on the news. If I do not hear of at least three deaths a day, it is unusually quiet. I once believed the “rats in a cage” theory held a lot of the answers to the upturn of violence, but it has started extending to all corners of the world. At what point do we start looking for a different, more complete answer to why we cannot, as a species, grow up and learn true peacefulness between ourselves?
I have been studying the re-write of the Bhadgvad Gita by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and he speaks truths that are nearly ageless to humanity. Somehow or another they have merely failed to sink in with the general public. This is where we get the wars. That and the scientific fact that we are an ancestor of apes, which means we have the violence in our genes. They can deny it all the want, but the fundamentalists have given no reason other than their self-righteous book-thumping for all the human blood spilt in the name of “god.” (I absolutely refuse to attach the Creatour’s singular title to anything so vile and purely human.) I want to know what is going on, if anyone can possibly explain why we are what we are.
I may have one explanation: Nature taking back. If she cannot do us in with her wierd and unpredictable illnesses (Ebole, AIDS, West Nile virus, etc.) then the next best thing is to turn her children on themselves. They are out of control ( us, in other words) and only by forcably reducing the numbers alive can any sense of calm return to the planet surface.
I will have some more to say about Sai Baba soon. While I have not had the ability to bounce ideas off anyone else yet, I have gone through much in reading his words.. I am only having trouble with the sex segragation that is still used in India. Welcome to the 21st century, eh? It is the difference in cultures I know, but I still don’t like it. Equal in all ways but this? I am afraid I would start an arguement with someone......
prayer for peace in the meantime. It may not happen in our lifetimes, but for our own souls, we must try.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Apologies
I feel I must makes amends for my prior entry here. I passed judgment on people, a bad habit I am still having to work on. I forget now and then that others do not see the world as I do, and that their way isn't wrong, just different. My view has been left alone by the ravages I perceive within organized religions of any kind. I base my faith, my knowledge of this world and its illusions, on a combination of physics and metaphysics, which really aren't as far apart as many scientists would have you believe. I see reflections of the other in the macrocosm and the microcosm. That is proof to me of the One. I need little else to confirm it.
But I am only one, and many need other things to hold onto. They have yet to understand the illusive nature of this world. They want, and need, physical proof, something I now know is pointless. Or at least is for me.
I spent yesterday evening at a religious service, something I rarely do save for weddings and funerals. It was a Sai Baba group. Now this fellow Baba has caused quite a stir in our world. He has many, many followers world wide and some religious leaders of other sects or whathaveyou are very threatened by him. I have not told the one who introduced me to him that the first things I found online were the negative ones. I put them aside and went on to find out for myself (that has always been my way anyhow.) Much of this man's life has been spent in doing works that could only be called good; he has built hospitals and schools, aided communities in India with obtaining permanent supplies of fresh water,....... How could he possibly be any worse than our own government? Yet he is reviled. Why? Because he also teaches self-realization. It is the same thing the Christ TRIED to teach, and man was he misinterpreted! Baba's words lead one down a path that one can walk without the aide of organized religion, if one so chooses, and that, my friends, is pure threat to the institutions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and most other majour faiths.
Part of the trouble seems to be the physical manifestations Baba creates. There is an ash-like product, and a honey-like product that are supposedly created from his hands, and some icons of him, that hold great sway over his followers. He also reportedly can make things materialize from nothing, and heal the sick, perhaps even raise the dead. Much of the non-Baba community sees this as hoaxes. I don't know if they are or not. I am not particularly moved by them. Why should I be impressed by the manipulation of this illusion by someone who obviously understands its true nature? I may not be able to copy his actions yet, but I do know that if I could get past my clinging to this world, I could do as he does. Ironically to me, he teaches this very thing, and it seems, at least from my novice POV, that it is one lesson that goes unheard. "As I am, so can you be." Not new words. Almost every teacher of any repute has said exactly the same thing.
This is where the apology has to come in. I do forget too often that my path is not the path of others. I do not understand the fascination with the "miracles" above what should be intense study of the WORDS. I have been reading Baba's re-write of the Bhavagda Gita, and have been quite moved by it, yet it was barely touched upon in this service. It teaches the best of what I have already come across myself, in simple language. I don't understand, myself, why it isn't the center of the Baba movement, instead of the manifestations. But that's me. Ever the philosopher.
I cannot look at a wall, see a face in some stain or mark on it, and get all caught up in the religion. I cannot bend knee to a human being, because I know that person is no greater, and no lesser than myself. I am a part of God. So are you, and all those things within your comprehension and far, far more beyond. We are literally little pieces of the One, and you know what? That makes each and every thing SACRED. Not one particular person. Not one particular place. EVERYTHING.
And I forget again: not everyone is ready for this knowledge. Not everyone can get up in the morning and live life this way. There needs to be the lighting of candles, the sung or spoken praise to something higher. They might not be ready to know that they are singing in fact to parts of themselves that have always, will always exist. Baba does know this, just as the Buddha knew, and the Christ knew, and probably a lot of other folks too. It just may not be right for everyone yet. I keep looking for the time of enlightenment, keeping hoping it will happen in my lifetime. It isn't going to be quite yet, I guess. And I am disappointed when I fail to find it where I think it should be. Those are my own failings. Just looking for something does not mean it is really there. It must be nurtured and helped to grow before it can happen. In my own small way, I hope to start that today. I will probably choose to work on a more one-to-one basis, because I don't like crowds, but I will have to remember to retain this humility I write of. Those who are ready will ask when it is time. Those who are not, will not ask. And it really is okay either way.
Peace and love to all.
Namaste.
But I am only one, and many need other things to hold onto. They have yet to understand the illusive nature of this world. They want, and need, physical proof, something I now know is pointless. Or at least is for me.
I spent yesterday evening at a religious service, something I rarely do save for weddings and funerals. It was a Sai Baba group. Now this fellow Baba has caused quite a stir in our world. He has many, many followers world wide and some religious leaders of other sects or whathaveyou are very threatened by him. I have not told the one who introduced me to him that the first things I found online were the negative ones. I put them aside and went on to find out for myself (that has always been my way anyhow.) Much of this man's life has been spent in doing works that could only be called good; he has built hospitals and schools, aided communities in India with obtaining permanent supplies of fresh water,....... How could he possibly be any worse than our own government? Yet he is reviled. Why? Because he also teaches self-realization. It is the same thing the Christ TRIED to teach, and man was he misinterpreted! Baba's words lead one down a path that one can walk without the aide of organized religion, if one so chooses, and that, my friends, is pure threat to the institutions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and most other majour faiths.
Part of the trouble seems to be the physical manifestations Baba creates. There is an ash-like product, and a honey-like product that are supposedly created from his hands, and some icons of him, that hold great sway over his followers. He also reportedly can make things materialize from nothing, and heal the sick, perhaps even raise the dead. Much of the non-Baba community sees this as hoaxes. I don't know if they are or not. I am not particularly moved by them. Why should I be impressed by the manipulation of this illusion by someone who obviously understands its true nature? I may not be able to copy his actions yet, but I do know that if I could get past my clinging to this world, I could do as he does. Ironically to me, he teaches this very thing, and it seems, at least from my novice POV, that it is one lesson that goes unheard. "As I am, so can you be." Not new words. Almost every teacher of any repute has said exactly the same thing.
This is where the apology has to come in. I do forget too often that my path is not the path of others. I do not understand the fascination with the "miracles" above what should be intense study of the WORDS. I have been reading Baba's re-write of the Bhavagda Gita, and have been quite moved by it, yet it was barely touched upon in this service. It teaches the best of what I have already come across myself, in simple language. I don't understand, myself, why it isn't the center of the Baba movement, instead of the manifestations. But that's me. Ever the philosopher.
I cannot look at a wall, see a face in some stain or mark on it, and get all caught up in the religion. I cannot bend knee to a human being, because I know that person is no greater, and no lesser than myself. I am a part of God. So are you, and all those things within your comprehension and far, far more beyond. We are literally little pieces of the One, and you know what? That makes each and every thing SACRED. Not one particular person. Not one particular place. EVERYTHING.
And I forget again: not everyone is ready for this knowledge. Not everyone can get up in the morning and live life this way. There needs to be the lighting of candles, the sung or spoken praise to something higher. They might not be ready to know that they are singing in fact to parts of themselves that have always, will always exist. Baba does know this, just as the Buddha knew, and the Christ knew, and probably a lot of other folks too. It just may not be right for everyone yet. I keep looking for the time of enlightenment, keeping hoping it will happen in my lifetime. It isn't going to be quite yet, I guess. And I am disappointed when I fail to find it where I think it should be. Those are my own failings. Just looking for something does not mean it is really there. It must be nurtured and helped to grow before it can happen. In my own small way, I hope to start that today. I will probably choose to work on a more one-to-one basis, because I don't like crowds, but I will have to remember to retain this humility I write of. Those who are ready will ask when it is time. Those who are not, will not ask. And it really is okay either way.
Peace and love to all.
Namaste.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Perdeneme....forgive me
In trying to be forgiving of others' failings in this world, we sometimes forget that we must also forgive ourselves.
That's a paraphrase of my friend Alex Ruiz. He's the lead singer for a band called Del Castillo, perhaps the most spiritual band I have ever known in all my many years of searching for such in the music world. Many people have tried to tie the music into the spiritual, but in the trying they fail. It is only by living it, and letting that shine out to the world that the music rings clearly of the presence of God in us all.
The above Spanish word means Forgive me. A simple request that too many cannot bend knee long enough to ask, even of themselves, for themselves. Del Castillo has written a song the words of which I do not fully understand....but I don't have to. The passion with which they harmonize their way through it tells me volumes and often moves me to tears. I hope they can capture it in a recording with the intensity they do with it live.
Go check out my blog about music for more on that most amazing band. I am here to talk of something else.
***********************************************************************************
The grace of the Creatour is a difficult thing to capture, in words or even in a personal search. Too often, bound as we are to this physical place for now, we look for physical confirmation of what we should be able to touch inside ourselves. This is why people see things like the face of an icon in a water stain on the wall, or a toasted cheese sandwich. It is why we search for others to teach us how to live and act, when we already KNOW, deep down, what is a positive way to live and what is not. It is all the temporal wounds this world piles on us that keep us from realizing and living the Truth, for ourselves, of our own doing, as was intended by the One from the beginning. I am astounded at the things I watch people clinging to in an attempt to answer all the questions that go flying around in our weak and doubting minds. We are so good at second guessing ourselves.
The one thing I can say with certainty is that it's okay. We each have chosen this life, the one we are in right now, for a reason. And we did it consciously at the moment we chose, to learn a lesson. That lesson may not be clear at the moment, especially when things are not going the way we think they should be. Yet it will be, as the picture was clear to us before we manifested here this time around. It may come at the moment of death, when we let go of this mortal plane to be reunited with the Source from which we all come......but it will happen. Know that. And I hope, in the knowing, you may find some peace, even if your life seems sometimes to be nothing but a series of disasters.
"As is the atom,so is the Universe;
As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm;
As is the human body, so is the cosmic body;
As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind."
ayurvedic aphorism
Namaste.
That's a paraphrase of my friend Alex Ruiz. He's the lead singer for a band called Del Castillo, perhaps the most spiritual band I have ever known in all my many years of searching for such in the music world. Many people have tried to tie the music into the spiritual, but in the trying they fail. It is only by living it, and letting that shine out to the world that the music rings clearly of the presence of God in us all.
The above Spanish word means Forgive me. A simple request that too many cannot bend knee long enough to ask, even of themselves, for themselves. Del Castillo has written a song the words of which I do not fully understand....but I don't have to. The passion with which they harmonize their way through it tells me volumes and often moves me to tears. I hope they can capture it in a recording with the intensity they do with it live.
Go check out my blog about music for more on that most amazing band. I am here to talk of something else.
***********************************************************************************
The grace of the Creatour is a difficult thing to capture, in words or even in a personal search. Too often, bound as we are to this physical place for now, we look for physical confirmation of what we should be able to touch inside ourselves. This is why people see things like the face of an icon in a water stain on the wall, or a toasted cheese sandwich. It is why we search for others to teach us how to live and act, when we already KNOW, deep down, what is a positive way to live and what is not. It is all the temporal wounds this world piles on us that keep us from realizing and living the Truth, for ourselves, of our own doing, as was intended by the One from the beginning. I am astounded at the things I watch people clinging to in an attempt to answer all the questions that go flying around in our weak and doubting minds. We are so good at second guessing ourselves.
The one thing I can say with certainty is that it's okay. We each have chosen this life, the one we are in right now, for a reason. And we did it consciously at the moment we chose, to learn a lesson. That lesson may not be clear at the moment, especially when things are not going the way we think they should be. Yet it will be, as the picture was clear to us before we manifested here this time around. It may come at the moment of death, when we let go of this mortal plane to be reunited with the Source from which we all come......but it will happen. Know that. And I hope, in the knowing, you may find some peace, even if your life seems sometimes to be nothing but a series of disasters.
"As is the atom,so is the Universe;
As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm;
As is the human body, so is the cosmic body;
As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind."
ayurvedic aphorism
Namaste.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Connect the Molecules with the Light
A beautiful and very appropriate quote from Carlos, albeit a little abbreviated. It caught my attention this evening, because it really applies to my beloved Del Castillo and the ever-growing bunch of fans they are amassing.
I know that changes are coming for this species, ona scale that is hard to imagine in its entirety. I also know that certain people and things will start guiding others to the Light, the Truth. It isn't about religion. Religion is the great divider, a contol mechanism that has never ben positive for humanity. It is about becoming again the spiritual creatures we already are. It is about remembering, and starting to live as the children of the One we truly are.
I hope it happens in my lifetime. I am at least witness to people like the members of Del Castillo, who are giving birth to it.
NAMASTE.
When you hear something that moves you to dance, to cry and to dance at the same time, your molecules change.
I'm happy to tell you that we are not alone; there are a lot of people who are resonating this and want the same thing. I think the door is open; we want it now. We want spiritual revolution, consciousness revolution. It's not impossible.
I invite you to crystallize your intention, motives and purpose, because if you don't do that, you're always going to blame somebody else for what you didn't get to do.
Carlos Santana
from magazine What Is Enlightenment?
issue March-May 2005
I know that changes are coming for this species, ona scale that is hard to imagine in its entirety. I also know that certain people and things will start guiding others to the Light, the Truth. It isn't about religion. Religion is the great divider, a contol mechanism that has never ben positive for humanity. It is about becoming again the spiritual creatures we already are. It is about remembering, and starting to live as the children of the One we truly are.
I hope it happens in my lifetime. I am at least witness to people like the members of Del Castillo, who are giving birth to it.
NAMASTE.
When you hear something that moves you to dance, to cry and to dance at the same time, your molecules change.
I'm happy to tell you that we are not alone; there are a lot of people who are resonating this and want the same thing. I think the door is open; we want it now. We want spiritual revolution, consciousness revolution. It's not impossible.
I invite you to crystallize your intention, motives and purpose, because if you don't do that, you're always going to blame somebody else for what you didn't get to do.
Carlos Santana
from magazine What Is Enlightenment?
issue March-May 2005
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