I am a blazing Sun
Lighting up my microcosmic universe

(http://www.tamilcanadian.com/kural/index.php?list=all&parent=1)


Thirukural
by Thiru Valluvar

Amnesty International AICrisis

Amnesty International AICrisis


Unlock the Camps in Sri Lanka
Safety and dignity for the displaced people now
300,000 people displaced by the fighting in Sri Lanka are held by the government in detention camps.
They cannot leave the camps, where conditions have been described as “appalling" by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
You can help. Sign the petition.
Read more » [Amnesty International]
ShareThis
//
Take Action Now »
5041 people have taken action

http://www.spiritual.com.au/articles/aymen/spiritual_path.html

The goal of the spiritual path is enlightenment.
Enlightenment means to be filled with light.
The light of spirit, source, god whatever you wish to call it.

Let me explain how you proceed on the path to enlightenment.

The doing part is correct, you need to do something.

1. You need to focus on yourself.
2. You need to concentrate on making you a better person.
3. You need to heal yourself.

To become enlightened and therefore be filled with light
requires you to empty yourself of your fears and emotional
attachments and dilemma's.

That leaves a space and in this space the light of your
higherself can enter. To be filled with this light means
enlightenment.

Between where you are today and enlightenment has
many stages. It may take you more than this lifetime.

You need to work on the following:

1. Awareness of your thought process, monitoring what
you think.
2. Being aware. Using your senses to be in the now as
opposed to living in a dream like state of thoughts that
are in the past or future.
3. Monitoring what makes you emotional and why.
Turning inward when emotions are raised and focusing
on yourself instead of the other person or circumstance.
4. Using your outer world as a reflection or guide to
discovering your inner world.
5. Understanding the difference of when you are in
control and when your ego is in control.
6. Using your will to stop your ego and maintaining this
state so that you have the space for enlightenment.

It is during the process of your own enlightenment that
you help other people. You do this by being an example
to them. You lead by becoming enlightened yourself and
as others come into contact with you they will benefit from
your energy and your light.

No matter where you are or what you do, you have the
ability to influence everyone that you come into contact with.

All you have to do is shine. Let them soak in your light.

Aymen Fares

In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.

In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.


~ Lao Tsu ~

My understanding of who I am and how to get in touch with my core essence which is Pure Presence - SAT CHIT ANANDA - I AM ALL; ALL IS I -

Be centred in the Now; in Presence. This is a blending with all. This is possible for instants and moments when all is in harmony within and without me. This is gone when the ego comes in for even the slightest distraction, an itch, a thought, a sensation. It is still possible to be aware of each while holding a silence within. Then a memory, chore, things needing doing, people, happenings come in and I am lost in ego or mind.

When all is harmony Presence is natural. With an active ego or mind which is fixated on living the right life, doing the right thing, being the right way, it is impossible to find harmony in this dualistic, polarized physical realm. So do I try to be in neutral for creating harmony? This isn't always possible. I have to find peace with who I am as I am - in all my modes, positive and negative, without judgement - of self or others. Once judgement is removed and I accept who I am as I am and all else as they are in the Now, Presence is possible. For judgement and values and dos and don'ts are of the mind and the mind is what stands in the way of Presence. Still the mind and the Greater flows through/enter the Whole. Have no ideas of the Whole; trying to explain it with words like sat chit ananda - because it is meaningless unless experienced. All this is still mental speculation trying to explain a process (?) or beingness (?) using mind which cannot know that which is beyond mind.

And it is so easy to get lost in the mind. For daily life is based on mind. When something happens to us or out in the world, moralistic questions crop up and one is engaged in mind to sort things out, taking a stand, identifying with something or other and well, Beingness seems far away and idealistic and not being realistic. What one has to remember is Beingness is in the present despite what is happening around us. Reality IS. Presence IS. Be present, aware and not engaged in mind - in the past and future. Just be here in the Now, in presence and awareness with what is, in full acceptance. Then the mind won't start the why, what, when, cause, effect, story, drama, past, future, fear, worry, anxiety etc. trips that takes one away from just being here, fully accepting what is. Use the mind for the useful tool that it is.

Does this make sense to me? Can I put it into practice?

Ignorance is not the absence of learning but the confusion and conflict of values.

- MMB's Beyond the Himalayas

"Are you confused Abbot? Wondering what is right and what is wrong? Then you are caught up in the conflict of ideas in your mind. You are an imitator, Abbot; you are trying to mould yourself after a pattern and you have created an image of what you think Reality should be, and you are carefully fashioning yourself after it, thereby losing the substance- Reality Itself....

Life is Real; It is complete in Itself, expressing Itself freely when you yourself become nothing. The self lives in separation, you see yourself separate from others; that is but an illusion, for there is but "One" Life in which there is no division. Thus, you see, division is an illusion of the mind, my son.

- MMB's Beyond the Himalayas

"He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the griefs which he proposes to remove."

- Webster

Some pictures of family

Our family's singing sensation, Vg entertaining the patients at Theena's Nursing Home

Friends...

family...

What is life all about? What we make of it... of course!

With my beloved son, Anand...eating chocholate in a lamp lit sidewalk...

With my beautiful daughter, Anusha....

*

Desiderata

*

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be

in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

*
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater

and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

*

Keep interested in your own career,

however humble;

it is a real possession

in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

*

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

*

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit

to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

*
You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

*

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life

keep peace with your soul.

*

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

***

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

***

A News article

31 August is Merdeka Day. 52 years of independance. Where are we? What have we achieved? Ponder on this!

Bovine 1 Malaysia
By Neville Spykerman

Truth, Sir, is a cow, that will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull. — Samuel Johnson.

AUG 31 — Really, what’s there to celebrate? Fifty-two years of simmering tensions?The ugly episode by the bull-headed protesters who showed no cow sense last Friday illustrates that 1 Malaysia is really just a load of bull.The organisers, who must have been infected with some strain of mad cow disease, should give themselves a pat on the back for literally taking the bull by the horns to illustrate their intolerance.Knowing full well that the cow is sacred to Hindus, they carried a severed bull’s head by the horns from the state mosque in Shah Alam to the state secretariat to voice their beef against the relocation of a Hindu temple to their pastures.The bovine adventure by the herd numbering 50, some with children in tow, captured headlines around the world and successfully put Malaysia in the world’s spotlight again.“Protesters in Malaysia march with severed cow head to protest building of new Hindu temple”, headlined the Associated Press story in the StarTribune.com.“Muslims protest with butchered cow head against Hindu temple”, headlined the story in Fox40.com.The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Jakarta Post; you name it, all carried the story of the cow-head demo in Shah Alam.If that’s not enough, the senseless acts of desecrating the sacred cow is also now on YouTube for the world to see.Here at home, people must ponder, was this protest about cowing the state into backing down from relocating the temple or was it about regaining the cash cow Selangor?In the meantime, the government will continue to promote 1 Malaysia till the cows come home.Happy Merdeka?

'To get something you never had,

you have to do something you never did.'

When God takes something from your grasp,

He's not punishing you, but merely

opening your hands to receive something better.

Concentrate on this sentence....
'The will of God will never take you where

the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Something good will happen to you today;

something that you have been waiting to hear.

Dorothy Horsman JP

The Atman is pure consciousness, clearly manifest as underlying the states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. It is inwardly experienced as unbroken consciousness, the consciousness that I AM I. It is the unchanging witness that experiences the ego, the intellect and the rest, with their various forms and changes. It is realized within one's own heart as existence, knowledge and bliss absolute, SAT CHIT ANANDA. Realize this Atman within the shrine of your own heart.

-Shankara's Viveka-Chudamani

The Art of Being Well... by Dr. Drauzio Varella


If you don’t want to be ill...
Speak your feelings.
Emotions and feelings that are hidden, repressed, end in illnesses as: gastritis, ulcer, lumbar pains, spinal.
With time, the repression of the feelings degenerates to the cancer.
Then, we go to a confidante, to share our intimacy, our "secret", our errors! The dialogue, the speech, the word, is a powerful remedy and an excellent therapy!

If you don’t want to be ill...
Make Decisions.
The undecided person remains in doubt, in anxiety, in anguish.
Indecision accumulates problems, worries and aggressions.
Human history is made of decisions.
To decide is precisely to know to renounce, to know to lose advantages and values to win others.
The undecided people are victims of gastric ailments, nervous pains and problems of the skin.

If you don’t want to be ill...
Find Solutions.
Negative people do not find solutions and they enlarge problems. They prefer lamentation, gossip, pessimism.
It is better to light a match than to regret the darkness. A bee is small, but produces one of the sweetest things that exist.
We are what we think.
The negative thought generates negative energy that is transformed into illness.

If you don’t want to be ill...
Don’t Live By Appearances.
Who hides reality, pretends , poses and always wants to give the impression of being well.
He wants to be seen as perfect, easy-going, etc. but is accumulating tons of weight. A bronze statue with feet of clay.
There is nothing worse for the health than to live on appearances and facades. These are people with a lot of varnish and little root. Their destiny is the pharmacy, the hospital and pain.

If you don’t want to be ill...
Accept.
The refusal of acceptance and the absence of self-esteem, make us alienate ourselves.
Being at one with ourselves is the core of a healthy life.
They who do not accept this, become envious, jealous, imitators, ultra-competitive, destructive. Be accepted, accept that you are accepted, accept the criticisms. It is wisdom, good sense and therapy.

If you don’t want to be ill...
Trust.
Who does not trust, does not communicate, is not opened, is not related, does not create deep and stable relations, does not know to do true friendships. Without confidence, there is not relationship.
Distrust is a lack of faith in you and in faith itself.

If you don’t want to be ill...
Do Not Live Life Sad.
Good humor. Laughter. Rest. Happiness.
These replenish health and bring long life.
The happy person has the gift to improve the environment wherever they live. “Good humor saves us from the hands of the doctor".
Happiness is health and therapy.

The noble eightfold path.

right views; right aspirations; right speech; right conduct;
right livelihood; right effort; right mindfulness; right contemplation.

right rules of living which endure no matter how difficult life gets.

rules of eating the right food…..vegetables, fruits, water, non-craving.

right body care : exercise, deep sound breathing, right attitude when eating.

mind control : to think the right thoughts, let go of all in one’s life
that generates negative thoughts; to be constantly vigilant about this.

right views : non-attachment to body, emotions, mind stuff
(ideologies, thoughts, thinking) culture, race, country, groups.

live a disciplined life : simplicity, meditation, mind control,
right attitude, right speech, right relationship, service,
compassion, willingness.

Quoted

Live today as if it is the last day of your life :

live such that you do not regret should you die now.
live such that your life is well lived and not in vain.
live such that you relate with all on a neutral or happy note.
live such that you do not leave words unsaid,
things undone, love unexpressed.
live such that you cling not to things or loved ones.

live such that you give back/pass on

what life has given you.
live such that as you take so you give.
live such that you came with nothing and leave with nothing.

live such that you are thankful for the life you had.
live such that you appreciate that every
experience was self chosen.
live such that you review your life now
and make changes now as self -judgement is done upon
death and lessons are noted to be learnt in the next lifetime.
live such that your life is ever upgraded (in all ways)
and is constantly changing.
live such that you take noone or nothing for granted.
live such that you have done your best by all and yourself.
Let your life be an expression of gratitude for an
opportunity to save yourself and in saving
yourself saving the world.
Know that every step taken is one step
nearer to Salvation and Truth.
Know that every chance of an incarnation
is a chance at Englightenment.

Quoted

Loving-Friendliness Meditation

May our minds be filled with the thought of loving-friendliness,
compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity.
May we be generous! May we be gentle. May we be relaxed.
May we be happy and peaceful. May we be healthy.
May our hearts become soft.

May all our words be pleasing to others.
Wherever we go in the world, may we meet people

with happiness, peace and friendliness.

May we be protected in all directions from greed,

anger, aversion, hatred, jealousy, and fear!
May we be free from tension, anxiety,

worry, and restlessness.
May all that we see, hear, smell, taste, touch or think

help us to cultivate loving friendliness, compassion,

appreciative joy, equanimity and gentleness.
May we be mindful of our opinions and actions.

May we be willing to walk our talk, speak our truth,

know our life's mission and balance

past, present, and future in the now.
May we remember that Divine Law is not

judgment or denial of self-truth.
Divine Law is honoring harmony that comes from a

peaceful mind, an open heart, a true tongue, a light step,

a forgiving nature and a love of all living creatures.

May we honor the past as our teacher, honor the present

as our creation, and honor the future as our inspiration.

Be a Lamp

You must be your own lamp, Be your own refuge. Take refuge in nothing outside yourselves. Hold firm to the Dharma as a lamp and a refuge. Do not look for refuge to anything besides yourselves.

— From the Nirvana Sutra

"A mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open."

To Be or not to be - decide every moment.

Embrace The Simplicity Of This Moment

Susila and all she is is a hologram of her mind. She thinks she is a certain way, in the way she looks, feels and thinks. Her world is self/mind created and she dwells in it, is immersed in it, thinks she is it, and limits herself thereby. She is a product of her mind. Her world is projected outwards by her inner programs run by her mind. She goes through life thinking life is dishing her this or that, her world is like this or that, thinking she is at the mercy of an impersonal world out there. Little does she understand that she is the director, producer and actor in her drama and the world stage projected outwards by none other than herself. She is the perceiver, the act of perceiving and that perceived. She is all of this. If she can penetrate this all dissapears....and what is left is no-thing....yet everything. That which expresses through susila, is much, much more than just her ego life or mind life. That which is the ensparking, ensouling Being-ness is pure Presence, pure essence to be experienced to be known. It is beyond all paradigms, boundaries, explanations.

We are not at the mercy of some external force which moulds our lives. We create and mould it ourselves by our thoughts, feelings and actions. Once we gain control over our thoughts and feelings then we will be able to consciously create our lives just the way we want to live it.

• 
  
  On Speech and Silence - a compilation
  
  
  He who speaks much cannot be truthful.
  
  Every useless word spoken adds a brick in the barrier with the Soul.
  
  He who has mastered the tongue has mastered all.
  
  Mastery of tongue (outer speech)
  Mastery of mind (inner speech)
  is the key to freedom.
  
  To master the tongue is to master the lower nature.
  
  Watch then - what you think and what you speak.
  
  
  Make a resolution every day just for this day to be
• watchful and careful of what is spoken and thought
• about.
  
  
  Mastery over mind and tongue will improve physical
• health because partly there is no loss of nervous
• energy through idle speech; partly there would not
• constantly arise the little karmic debts of wrong speech.
  
  
  
• One cannot climb up the spiritual ladder
  furthur till one has mastered one's tongue.
  
• 
  Before one speaks stop to think:
• is it kind? helpful? the truth?
  and then speak
  
• 
  Before great truths which r secrets r
• entrusted unto one's care one must
• demonstrate that :
• "I CAN HOLD MY TONGUE"
  
• The next step up the ladder can be climbed
• only when one has mastered one's mind.
• In simple everyday situations are we thus tested
• for spiritual ripeness.
• A promise is a promise and is a sacred thing.
• Talkative people fritter away their energy
• which ought to be employed in useful action.
• " TO KNOW, TO DARE, TO WILL AND TO BE SILENT. "

• "We must know the truths of Nature and dare to
• use them. To use the Powers that become ours on
• this Path we must have a strong will that can control
• ourselves too. Then when these things are done we
• must know enough to be silent about them."
• We have all to learn by repeated dissapointments that we
• cannot help a man along the way which he is not yet ready
• to tread. Thus we become much quieter.

• Small Desires.
• Never wish to shine or to appear clever.
• Have no desire to speak unless you are
• quite sure that what you wish to say is
• true, kind, and helpful. This will make you
• slow in conversation. Gradually you will
• find you talk less and that will be a good thing.

The 12 Virtues of the Heart Center
Discipleship In The New Age II p.660

1. Group Love
2. Humility
3. Service
4. Patience
5. Life
6. Tolerance
7. Identification with others
8. Compassion
9. Sympathy
10. Wisdom
11. Sacrifice
12. ( )

It is wisdom which is seeking wisdom.

The reward in life will always be in proportion to the risk.

There is nothing kept from you
that you have not kept from yourself.

The softest of all things can subdue
the hardest things in the world.

When the student is ready
the teacher will appear.

The greatest carver does the least carving.

It is not brute force, but the art of doing
that gets things done effortlessly.

Do not speak of the ocean to the frog that lives in the well.

Mastering others requires power;
Mastering oneself requires strength.

Your self worth must be able to withstand
the rejection of others.

You don't get what you want; you get what you expect.
Expect Perfection.

Act without agitation; strive without strain.

The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.
Your teacher pointing the way is not that which is sought.

One who knows he has enough is wealthy.

The more you give away, the greater your abundance.

Before you can break out of prison
you must first realize you're locked up.

Experience which destroys innocence
also leads one back to it.

Some people try to tiptoe softly through life
so they can arrive at death safely.

Anger is passion.
Deny it and lose your zest for living;
Succumb to it and lose your zest for loving;
Balance it and use it to move forward.

Those who would conquer must yield.

Yield and remain whole;
Be empty and remain full.

Tranquility is master of turbulence

Courage is simply the willingness
to be afraid and act anyway.

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.

DARE to be happy.

Exalt not achievement, and people will not compete;
Exalt not possessions, and people will not steal.

http://www.advaita.org.uk/teachers/direct_path.htm

"You are perfect; uncover the person who feels something is missing, and what remains is perfection. … Leave the mind and body free to be what they are and you will no longer be their slave." - Jean Klein

"The attribution of reality to things which rise in thoughts is the cause of all bondage - Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon

"I feel that there is still, in you, some waiting for an event called 'enlightenment' at the end of a purification process. See the absurdity of this. It is more of the same game of rejecting the now. Consciousness is here and now. You are that, here and now and forever. Whatever may come up in the future can only be an illusion. That which is real doesn't come and go. It will not arise in the future. It is now and forever." -Francis Lucille.

http://www.soul-guidance.com/houseofthesun/index.htm#best protection


from an ancient alchemical manuscript...

Solum Omnium Lumen is a Latin expression which means "The Sun shines everywhere".

Another powerful phrase is Amor Vincit Omnia, the Latin expression for "Love Conquers Everything".

Why March By Former Bar Council President‏

***Why Do Malaysians March?***

Yeo Yang Poh

(The Sun, 3 Aug 2009)

WHY march, when the government has said that it will review the Internal Security Act? Why march, when there are other very cosy ways of giving your views and feedback?

One would understand if these were questions posed by nine-year-olds. But they are not. They are questions posed by the prime minister of this nation we call our home. Answer we must. So, why?

Because thousands who died while in detention cannot march or speak anymore. That is why others have to do it for them.

Because persons in the corridors of power, persons who have amassed tremendous wealth and live in mansions, and persons who are in the position to right wrongs but won’t, continue to rule our nation with suffocating might. And they certainly would not march. They would prevent others from marching.

Because the have-nots, the sidelined, the oppressed, the discriminated and the persecuted have no effective line to the powerful.

Because the nice ways have been tried ad nauseam for decades, but have fallen on deaf ears. Because none of the major recommendations of Suhakam (including on peaceful assembly), or of the commissions of inquiry, has been implemented.

Because the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is not in sight, while corruption and insecurity live in every neighbourhood; and (despite reasoned views expressed ever so nicely in opposition) Rela (people’s volunteer corps) is being brought in to make matters even worse.

The proponents in “Su Qiu” (remember them?) were not marchers.

In fact it is hard to find nicer ways than “su qiu”, because the term means“present and request” or “inform and request”. In terms of putting forward a view or a request, it is the height of politeness. Yet they were labelled “extremists” – they who did not march.

And now you ask, why march?

Because you gave non-marchers a false name! You called them the “silent majority”, who by virtue of their silence (so you proudly argued with twisted logic) were supporters of government policies since they were not vocal in raising objections. You claimed to be protecting the interest of the “silent majority”. Now some of them do not want to be silent anymore, and you are asking why?

Yes, because double standards and hypocrisy cannot be covered up or explained away forever; and incompetence cannot be indefinitely propped up by depleting resources.

Because cronyism can only take care of a few people, and the rest will eventually wake up to realise the repeated lies that things were done in certain ways purportedly “for their benefit”.

Because the race card, cleverly played for such a long time, is beginning to be seen for what it really is – a despicable tool to divide the rakyat for easier political manipulation.

Because it does not take much to figure out that there is no good reason why Malaysia, a country with abundant human resources and rich natural resources, does not have a standard of living many times higher than that of Singapore, an island state with no natural resources and that has to import human resources from Malaysia and elsewhere.

Because, in general, countries that do not persecute marchers are prosperous or are improving from their previous state of affairs, and those that do are declining.

Because Gandhi marched, Mandela marched, Martin Luther King marched, and Tunku Abdul Rahman marched.

Because more and more people realise that peaceful assemblies are no threat at all to the security of the nation, although they are a threat to the security of tenure of the ruling elite.

Because politicians do not mean it when they say with a straight face or a smile that they are the servants and that the people are the masters. No servant would treat his master with tear gas, batons and handcuffs.

Because if the marchers in history had been stopped in their tracks, places like India, Malaysia and many others would still be colonies today, apartheid would still be thriving in South Africa, Nelson Mandela would still be scribbling on the walls of Cell 5, and Obama would probably be a slave somewhere in Mississippi plotting to make his next midnight dash for the river.

And because liberty, freedom and dignity are not free vouchers posted out to each household.

They do not come to those who just sit and wait. They have to be fought for, and gained.

And if you still want to ask: why march; I can go on and on until the last tree is felled. But I shall obviously not.

I will end with the following lines from one of the songs sung in the 1960s by civil rights marchers in the US, without whom Obama would not be able to even sit with the whites in a bus, let alone reside in the White House:

“It isn’t nice to block the doorway

It isn’t nice to go to jail.

There are nicer ways to do it

But the nice ways have all failed

It isn’t nice; it isn’t nice

You’ve told us once,

you’ve told us twice

But if that’s freedom’s price

We don’t mind ...”

(Yeo Yang Poh is a former Bar Council president.)

Pictures speak a thousand words

Mt. Kailash

Wild Horses

Camping on the Himalayas

Quetzal bird

Iceberg

Borobudur, Indonesia

Wave

Multi coloured wild flower

Deer

Rare white peacock

Contemplation

UFO cloud

sunset

solar flares

Peace and calm

northern lights

himalayas

Moonshine

Dolphins at sunset

Mothering instinct

Begin the journey now

Australian Bee Eater

St. Theresa's Prayer:

May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly

where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities

that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and everyone of us.

ஏல்லாம் என் நன்மேக்காக தான்.

In all things a balance has to be found....

George Eliot:
It is good to be helpful and kindly, but don't give yourself to be melted into candle grease for the benefit of the tallow trade.

Barbara De Angelis:
Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.

Truisms of the day

“Life is always about the journey, never about the destination,”

“Go with the flow.”

“Roll with the punches.”

“Let go of ideas you have about life.”

“Take life as it comes.”

“Life is ever shifting and re-forming.”

“It is now the time to let go of all paradigms.”

“Life is changing and taking new meaning.”

“The old is no more; let go; embrace the new.”

“Nothing ever dies; it merely changes forms.”

“People come and go, learn to make new friends.”

"A mind is like a parachute, it only works when it's open."

Issues explained are issues resolved. No carry forward.

Moment to moment we are so engrossed in the daily happenings, doings, sayings, thinking, relating, relationships, activities, chores, tasks, duties, responsibilities....the list is endless...all revolving around this mind based personality life.

Pluck moments of silence as much as possible to enter the soul life - bigger, vaster, purer, magnificent....more expansive than the mind....by not thinking, just be-ing and melting into the Being-ness of Life Itself.

Let go of emotions of right, feeling good.
Of wrong, feeling bad.
For both are ok; they have their place.
I am not touched by either
I AM


Just a reminder

Raysofsunshine flood into my sacred heart.
flower of dew, suriakaanti, flower of Surya, Sun God
homage to thee, life giver and sustainer of All.

dreamrider am I !!!
I ride the stars....I ride my destiny....I pave my path
through endless dreams real and surreal.

adventureroflife am I !!!
creating experiences over which I triumph, I master.
Rise, I do over my slain self, over and over.

Asaphoenix rising, fiery red, golden...
From my ashes, born anew, emboldened,
single pointed upon the goal.

anew life begins everyday....
a new journey into the unknown....
I pledge myself to my Soul....

To my Self I swear allegiance - inwards and outwards.
To my goals I harken...of my inner and outer life.


Personal

Something to remember

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.

A saying I came across that resonates well with me...

"There are none so blind as those who will not see, nor none so deaf as those who will not hear."

from the Wings website....

....What is different this time than in times past regarding the ascension process, is that more light is being held now from within. So even though we may experience solar flares, solstices, and eclipses, they do not affect us nearly as much as they did in times past. And know as well, that the more light we hold and the more we evolve, the less we will be affected by these monumental celestial events. The denser the energy within a form, the more it is traumatized and challenged, as there is more to be released and aligned.
Because we are holding so much more light and higher vibrating energy now, we must also know that we are, as always, the ultimate creators. In this way, waiting for something to get better or to save us via arriving from an outside celestial event, and giving away our power to something outside of us, without doing our internal aligning, will never work. It is much better, if possible, to feel OK no matter what is occurring around us, or to at least know that no matter how things unfold, or rather how the process manifests, it will be OK with us. Being in the moment with no agenda, even though I frequently report to you what the agenda is, is always a good thing. The planned outcome or agenda is always there, but the path to the outcome is always open to choice and a variety of differing manifestations.....

......Karen.........

Switzerland

Waiting for the train that leaves for JungFrauJoch for a touch of snow.

Zurich - upon landing and taking a drive and walk here I noted how hot it was.

At one of the way stations going up to Schilthorn - a wonderful cable car ride.

In Zurich itself; as we were driving out - trams.

At Schilthorn....

A look at Lucern from the road...

A view from the cable car looking down....

An Emmental Valley home...they have little carved figures decorating their homes...

A park in Zurich - you can see three of us here....Anusha, me and our guide, Claudine...

Swans swimming in a lake in Zurich.

Another spectacular view of

A take from the train taking us to Jungfraujoch....

Photos taken in Switzerland in 2007

In the darkness; before the dawn
is the darkest hour - you know this.
Yet this darkest hour could be
but a second, a month, or years long.
Keep the virgil o dearest one!
Waver not brave pilgrim of Truth
Know your light
shines bright
and holds many through
the midnight hour.
Fall but rise and rise yet again
bruised and tattered by life's
trials and tribulation.
Know that it is the way
the game is played.
So be a willing player
know the moves ...
BE in Presence
whether you fall or rise
And you will have achieved.
But more so
aided many more.

- Personal

:)


Some people are not willing to try anything because they have already formed an opinion about it. Their food, pastimes, interests are narrow and limited. To these people I say, "Try once and then decide. Guess what? You may just like it."

"Life is an acquired taste."

To Be Free
Freedom Begins as a State of Mind ….
By Danielle of Global Psychics

This year's Canada Day and Independence Day celebrations inspired me to question what it is we were all celebrating. The word freedom exploded in my head with every firecracker that popped in the neighbourhood. I am a proud Canadian with a great respect and appreciation for our neighbours to the south…. America , The Land Of The Free, is like a big brother to us. We share most of the North American continent, and also many of the same values – among them our Freedoms… freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom of religion and culture - the freedom to be who we want to be… Yet I can't help but feel that we have deluded ourselves in our belief that we are free.
Interesting how serendipity operates… just as I was finishing this article, I received a note from an old friend, Hugh, a Canadian businessman, now in Islamabad . This paragraph caught my attention:
“One thing I miss is freedom. I cannot get into a car and drive, I have to be driven everywhere, for security reasons. So I am either at the office or in the guest house where I live. I get to talk to the people at the office, but so far don't have many contacts outside. Tomorrow, Sunday, I will get the guest house driver to take me shopping for fruits.
In fact, I feel that most of us on planet Earth are living in shackles… enslaved by our struggle to “get ahead”, tied to our need for material things, caught up in our desire for success or for love, locked up in fear, protecting ourselves, our families, our stuff… the situation in Islamabad – and in many cities around the globe is a physical manifestation of the fears, the limits and boundaries that each of us carries within us. The trouble is that our shackles are invisible – our chains are in our minds, created by our beliefs, tightened by our fears. What we believe about ourselves and our world establishes some clear boundaries, beyond which we must not venture….. Changing our minds is very much like crossing a border to another country…upturning our beliefs lands us in a foreign land, which sets off a whole lot of different reactions and emotions. I, like my friend Hugh, am always excited to be exploring in a new world. I am fascinated and inspired by new cultures, news tastes, sounds and smells… but for many others, such adventures are fearful, they much prefer to stick to what they know, limited by what they believe to be “tried and true”, safe and secure. The good news is that we are all free to stay or to go, to limit ourselves, or not, and we are free to choose where we go, when and with whom. Or are we? My friend Hugh is clearly not free to go where he wants. In order to achieve his goals, he must co-operate with the rules, and for his own safety, he must be sensitive to the security issues. Again, a powerful analogy for the way we all function in life. Each of us participates in some way in a family, a community, a country. Society shapes our attitudes and beliefs… our families and communities define what behaviour is acceptable and what is not… and the conditioning to the “rules” begins while we're still in the womb, with the expectations and beliefs that are set for a child before the babe is even in Mom's arms…. Before we are ever born, our families and communities begin shaping our world, and limiting our freedom, defining where we will go, when, with whom and even why. I believe that to claim our freedom, we must be willing to expand our internal boundaries, to question, challenge what we have believed about ourselves and the world. Change your mind, and you can change your world…free yourself… allow yourself to shift perspectives, to take a different point of view… Notice those limiting beliefs, then deliberately begin to expand your horizons. Take a different route to work, try a new recipe, listen to a different genre of music, experiment with some new ethnic restaurants, try a new market, a new hobby, a new book, connect with some new people… and let go of your ideas about what is weird, ugly, or stupid. Open your mind and you will open to new opportunities, for love, for money, for wisdom, knowledge and growth, or just for some good fun and happy memories.