What's on the News?

What is consciousness?
It is awareness?
Yea but what is awareness anyway?
We can measure the consciousness of a people
by their level of awareness.
Of what?
Of themselves and their surroundings for starters.
On a higher scale of life as it manifests in its
many variegated form....
Let's look at this .... through observation....
now we can guess at the consciousness of a worm
....food, food and more food.... until it becomes a
pupa .... it is sleep, sleep and more sleep -
a kind of hibernation as it transforms within until it
becomes a butterfly... its consciousness expands to
... knowing flight, knowing food, knowing mating
until it dies ..........................

Likewise taking man .... he is conscious of the need for
food ... clothing .... protection .... procreation AND
his five sensory perceptions of sight, hearing, taste,
touch and smell. What does he do with this - with his
mind he manipulates his environment, with his emotions
he creates relationships, through his physical body and
its five senses he makes a life for himself... until he dies.

Are all men of the same level of consciousness?
Obviously not? How? Why?
Some just exist; some live their lives, some achieve,
some transcend.
There is obviously a difference between all these types
of human beings. Their awareness of themselves in
relation to their surroundings is directly proportional to
their quality of life.
One would then say a man who transcends is not having
a high quality life. Materially perhaps. But the material
person is unable to fathom what the transcendent experience
of the spiritual man is like. The higher levels of awareness
that he has opened up to which is still a mystery to those
who haven't reached his state of being.  To the point he
is no longer interested in mundane material existence.
His consciousness therefore has expanded to include
dimensions of being. This manifests in his increased
humanity, dispassion, detachment, lovingness beyond all
barriers, disenchantment of the world in its divisiveness.

We see an improved standard of living, caring and sharing
amongst those of a high level of consciousness. This does
not include wealth and that which wealth bestows upon
people. For this kind of a high standard of living is at the
expense of other human beings in other parts of the
world who slog to provide the rich their lifestyle. Here is
a higher consciousness which has managed to order its
environment but which has not expanded its concern beyond
that of self-ishness is waiting to bloom into an all encompassing
consciousness.

Mass consciousness to self consciousness to group consciousness
(here the group being humanity)

When the majority of humanity reach this state of group consciousness
he stops plundering the Earth and stops enslaving other human
beings to meet his needs. He instead starts serving others to meet
their needs. He relinquishes all and in giving up the Earth attains Heaven.

Vegetable protein

interesting ...

Grow vegetables ...

As you sow

Shoulder and Arm pain cure

SHOULDER & ARM PAIN POINT: Relieves finger numbness, 
shoulder bursitis, rotator cuff & upper back pain. Press firmly for 
2 minutes; 3 times daily. Can’t reach it? Use a tennis ball, lying on 
your side, breathing deeply. A nap afterward is healing. Guided 
Self-care dvd relieves stress, headaches, shoulder & neck pain:  
http://goo.gl/wCOaVZ

10 steps to Self-Care

But then we don't do to get love

A beautiful day

Honour your feelings

Don't change for others

What people say ...

The Last Sermon of the Buddha

The Buddha's Farewell Address
I have preached the truth without making any distinction
between exoteric and esoteric doctrine;
for in respect of the truth, Ananda,
the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher,
who keeps some things back....
"Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves.
Rely on yourselves, and do not rely on external help
"Hold fast to the truth as a lamp.
Seek salvation alone in the truth.
Look not for assistance to any one besides yourselves.
"Herein, O Ananda, let a brother,
as he dwells in the body, so regard the body that he,
being strenuous, thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world,
overcome the grief which arises from the body's cravings.
"While subject to sensations
let him continue so to regard the sensations that he,
being strenuous, thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world,
overcome the grief which arises from the sensations. 
 "And so, also, when he thinks or reasons, or feels,
let him so regard his thoughts
that being strenuous, thoughtful, and mindful he may, whilst in the world,
overcome the grief which arises from the craving due to ideas,
or to reasoning, or to feeling.
...it is in the very nature of all compound things
that they must be dissolved again.
We must separate ourselves from all
things near and dear to us, and must leave them.
How then, Ananda, can it be possible for me to remain,
since everything that is born, or brought into being, and organized,
contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution?
 "O brethren, ye to whom the truth has been made known,
having thoroughly made yourselves masters of it,
practise it, meditate upon it, and spread it abroad,
in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated,
in order that it may continue for the good
and happiness of the great multitudes,
out of pity for the world,
and to the good and gain of all living beings!
"Star-gazing and astrology, forecasting lucky or unfortunate events by signs,
prognosticating good or evil, all these are things forbidden.  

"He who lets his heart go loose without restraint
shall not attain Nirvana;
therefore, must we hold the heart in check,
and retire from worldly excitements
and seek tranquillity of mind.
"Practise the earnest meditations I have taught you.
Continue in the great struggle against sin.
Walk steadily in the roads of saintship.
Be strong in moral powers.
Let the organs of your spiritual sense be quick.
When the seven kinds of wisdom enlighten your mind,
you will find the noble, eightfold path that leads to Nirvana.  

'All component things must grow old and be dissolved again.
Seek ye for that which is permanent,
and work out your salvation with diligence.'"
"He who gives away shall have real gain.
He who subdues himself shall be free,
he shall cease to be a slave of passions.
The righteous man casts off evil;
and by rooting out lust, bitterness, and illusion,
do we reach Nirvana."

Love and trust

Take responsibility for my creations, my life....

Hmmm ....

I am so blessed

LETTT GGGGO OOOFFFF THHHE PPAAAASSSSSTT

Sigh .....

Relevant to current political events

Be yourself

BE

So long as he does not get lost in mindland .....

If someone really cares ...

I ADMIRE ME !!!

Recipe for Homemade Deodorant with Coconut Oil

The recipe is simple….

Ingredients:

1/4 cup melted unrefined extra virgin coconut oil which corresponds 

to 4 tablespoons of solid coconut oil

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup corn starch

10 drops of essential oils (I used lavender and tea tree oil)

Glass jar with lid

Steps:

Place all the dry ingredients into a convenient container.
Add the melted coconut oil and essential oils and stir well.

You’ll end up with a fragrant paste 

which should be poured into a jar before it solidifies. Remember, 

coconut oil’s natural state is solid, and the end product should 

look something like this. Leave it to cool naturally before 

placing it in the fridge for extra solidification. I like to keep 

it at room temperature for easier application, but you can also keep 

it in your fridge.

The Final Word

Oh, and in case you wondered how these ingredients have been 

proven to work… baking soda absorbs odors, cornstarch 

absorbs wetness and coconut oil is an anti-oxidant and a 

moisturizer with anti-fungal/anti-bacterial properties. The 

essential oils you added will add their own properties. 

In my case, I added lavender oil as an antiseptic and tea tree oil 

for its antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic qualities.

And that’s how you can create happy armpits!

Diabetes - Is there another option?

Wouldn't it be better if the ravages of high blood sugar levels could be
addressed as a part of overall good health, rather than simply as an
illness in need of drug treatment? Recent studies have revealed that
many foods have blood sugar-stabilizing effects. Here are seven of
them: 
Cinnamon - We all recognize this happy, holiday spice, but did you
know that cinnamon can regulate blood sugar in people with diabetes?
A study published by the American Diabetes Association's journal,  
Diabetes Care (3), showed that, after 40 days of use, cinnamon
lowered blood sugar levels in the test participants by as much as 26
percent. 
Fenugreek seeds - Fenugreek is a tangy spice that some people say
tastes a bit like licorice. Toasted and added to salads or cereal, or taken
in powdered form, fenugreek can lower blood glucose levels.
Fenugreek is also a blood thinner, so care should be taken if you also
use blood- thinning medications like warfarin or aspirin. 
Ginseng - American ginseng, as reported in the eCAM-published study
"Ginseng on Hyperglycemia: Effects and Mechanisms," (4) can lower
both fasting and post-meal blood glucose levels. How ginseng works is
 not completely clear, but early studies suggest that the herb increases
 insulin production and slows the death of pancreatic beta-cells. The
ginseng root can be taken as a supplement, or it can be added to the
diet as tea. Also a blood thinner, ginseng should be taken with care by
people on blood-thinning medications or those with autoimmune
disease. 
Broccoli - Chromium has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar,
and with a single serving of broccoli packing, according to the World's 
Healthiest Foods (5), 53 percent of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI)
of chromium, it's one of the best natural sources. Broccoli is also high
in fiber, which makes it a win-win for people trying to reverse diabetes. 
Oatmeal - Fiber is high on the list of natural blood-glucose stabilizing
substances, and whole oats pack 16 grams of fiber into a single cup.
Oats are also high in magnesium. A dry quarter of a cup has over 17
percent of the DRI. 
Peanuts - Peanuts and peanut butter have been proven to lower blood
sugar levels. Stabilizing your blood sugar protects the pancreas from
being overworked and also staves off hunger. Other nuts have the
same effect, but peanuts are easy to add to your diet. Toss some over
your cereal in the morning or have a PB&J on whole wheat for lunch.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/045464_diabetic_diet_secrets_

I am not defined by my Memory.

Ponderings ...

I am the Path. It seems at times that I have 
gone off the path by withdrawing from some 
one teaching I have been passionate about 
and feel disillusioned. But the fact and the 
truth of the matter is who I am is my Path, 
however I choose to live my truth. I may 
withdraw, start anew, change course, change 
my belief system. 

I am the same person on the selfsame journey - it is all part/path 
of my following my bliss. I can't go wrong. Life can never go wrong. 
Good and not so good are but value judgements of the personality; 
it all is grist for the soul. At some point single pointed effort is 
needed for a breakthrough. When I choose to do this nothing will
stand in my way. Until then I do the best by virtue of my karma
and my dharma in life. All is well. There are active periods and 
there are rest periods. I am in a rest period. Let me handle this
graciously with understanding at the personality level and be a
little kinder to self and others.

Wherever you go ...

You cannot escape yourself. You are your great discovery. You
are your greatest journey. You are your greatest conquest. It is
not out there, in some ideology, some learning, some teaching.
IT IS WITHIN!

Change

Who do you want to be?

The Path of Wisdom

Jnana yoga - the Vedantic tradition, expects an aspirant to
demonstrate the following virtues and qualities:
a capacity for Discernment (viveka)
a degree of Dispassion (viragya)
a desire for Liberation (mumukshutva)
Tranquility (shamma)
Self-restraint (dama)
Inner renunciation (uparati)
Patience (titiksha)
Concentration (samadhi)
Faith (shraddha) 

andddd squeeky clean ...

And in contrast to my earlier post ....

therefore be careful you don't buy into every "wise"
saying ,,,,  discern, make your own choice and then
do the best you can. Choices present themselves to
you every step of the way. Think through, think
through the alternatives in detail before making a
choice.

To let go ...

Live a life you are proud of; if not ....

don't look back

Patience

Patience is the test of character, courage, and understanding. It is
not the desire of the wise to build hastily, but rather, to build well.
"Psychic shysters" will go out of business when neophytes in
metaphysics understand the words of the Greek philosopher who
said, "make philosophy thy existence." The old sage did not say
"thy life work," or "thy trade" or "thy profession," or "thy effort
for a certain number of years." He used the term "thy existence"
to imply that the life of wisdom goes on from incarnation to
incarnation, becoming a part of the very self , transcending all 
limitations of time and space. Students of the Ancient Wisdom 
will still be students a million years from now, for as all life is a 
process of achieving, never consummated by ultimate achievement, 
so philosophy is a process of ever learning, an experience to which 
there is no conceivable end. The impatient novice tries a new 
system of "development" when "illumination" fails to arrive after a 
few months of study, but the soul that is wise with patience, which 
has risen above these illusions, rejoices in the perception of some 
small improvement at the end of many years of patient living.

"Patience" pages 51-52 from Words to the Wise   - Manly P Hall

This is sooo true ...

So I have finally taken myself in hand and imposed
successfully a restricted diet leaving out rice mostly
and focusing on soups and salads. I do allow myself
some space. All things in moderation is my motto.

Peace

So true

Feel

Denis Diderot

 
"it is only when the last monarch is strangled by the entrails
of the last priest will mankind finally be truly free"
- Denis Diderot

My humble thoughts con't

Human beings are dual beings. They are moved from one
extreme to the other by their response and reactions to their
environment. They are beastly at the lowest expression and
godly in their highest expression. In this way they learn and
experience and grow and transform. As they grow and unfold
their inner faculties so too do they open up to wider fields
of experiences and expanded states of consciousness. They
now come into an awareness of things they did not know
existed and they are learning to respond to this.

At some point they realize that the physical plane is complicit
with contending and contradicting energies and manifestations
and will come to realize that they can forever be pulled hither
and thither between opposing forces or rise above them. While
they are being pummeled by opposing forces and before the
realization sets in that the way out is to rise above these forces
is a dark and very tumultuous path in human existence. It is the
dark night before the dawn.

At the break of dawn, at the point of realization comes a deep
yearning, a mustering of all of one's strength and aspiration and
in single pointed attention and concentration one makes the
attempt to rise above the murky depths below. Alas, one falls,
again and again as one tries to reach that divine light one perceives
far away but now attainable.

One is broken on the rocks of one's own making in ages past,
in past dark ages when one sowed and now must reap, which
hinders every step up that narrow path to the Light. For all accounts
must be settled, all dues paid down to the last cent, last atom.
And through all this one must not lose hope, lose steam, lose
step, lose that aspiration and single minded focus that is needed
for this arduous journey on that thin line of force thrown down
by one's soul by which one, holding firm, must climb. The path
that the soul illumines for the weary traveller, the quest, the Path
one must become oneself.

My humble thoughts

Natural religion is all humanity needs. By natural religion I mean

basic morality and respect for the divine in all human beings and

all of creation. Basic morality, in my eyes is the simple rendering

to others what one wants rendered unto oneself based on feel good/

feel bad experiences of life. I firmly believe that all human beings

(stripped of religion) have this in their core - their moral core.

Religion, I believe should have the sole purpose of building on that

core and building character through knowledge. But religions do not

do that. What they do is divide, me and thou, mine vs yours and bring

about much desecration of that moral core in humanity. Religion falls

into the unholy pit of desires which tear at this moral core as does

money and worldly possessions and becomes evil thereby. And human

beings deluded by desires and power (for control or for resources) fall

prey and become deluded thereby, losing their morality and sense of

righteousness.

Religion therefore could not have been given to humanity by someone
with their highest good in their minds; rather by those who choose to
rule them and have power over them and the Earth. It is given by those
more caught in the grips of power than the simple human being himself.

So it is imperative that we move out of the clutches of religion
and own our simple morality and live by its virtues. Knowledge
should be pursued so far as it is knowledge which frees one from
the prison of the mind but with caution that one does not get
imprisoned by knowledge which is mind itself - a paradox.
Every step of the way let experience prove knowledge learnt -
it should be demonstrable in one's own life.

It behooves every human being to acquire knowledge as it is a
means to enlightenment and expansion of consciousness which
lead to expanded being spiritually seen. It behooves him to use
knowledge for self and others for the greater good. It behooves
him to not get entrenched in value systems and form restricting
ideologies thereby. It behooves him to use knowledge but not
get used by knowledge. It behooves him to give up, relinguish,
sacrifice and move ever, ever upwards in the great quest of the
human life; the human experience, the human journey of self
discovery through complete relinquishing of the lower for the
higher.

Believe nothing

 

No one saves us but ourselves

 

 

 

Healing is Possible

Zen

Love Oneself

Poems re-visited

Mr Nobody
by unknown author

I know a funny little man,
As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody's house!
There's no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody

`Tis he who always tears our books,
Who leaves the door ajar,
He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pine afar;
That squeaking door will always squeak,
For, prithee, don't you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody
The finger marked upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blind unclosed,
To let the curtains fade.
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you. See
Are not our boots they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.  

............................................................................

My Shadow

Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,   
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.   
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;   
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.   
   
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;   
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,   
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.   
   
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,   
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;   
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!   
   
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,   
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;   
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, 
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed. 

.................................................................................... 

 The Daffodils

William Wordsworth, 1770 - 1850

 

I wandered lonely as a cloud
   That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
   A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
   And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
   Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
   Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A Poet could not but be gay,
   In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
   In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
   Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils. 

..................................................................

CASABIANCA
by: Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793-1835)

HE boy stood on the burning deck

Whence all but him had fled;

The flame that lit the battle's wreck

Shone round him o'er the dead.

Yet beautiful and bright he stood,

As born to rule the storm;

A creature of heroic blood,

A proud, though childlike form.

The flames rolled on -- he would not go

Without his father's word;

That father, faint in death below,

His voice no longer heard.

He called aloud -- "Say, father, say,

If yet my task is done?"

He knew not that the chieftain lay

Unconscious of his son.

"Speak, father!" once again he cried,

"If I may yet be gone!"

And but the booming shots replied,

And fast the flames rolled on.

Upon his brow he felt their breath,

And in his waving hair,

And looked from that lone post of death

In still, yet brave despair.

And shouted but once more aloud,

"My father! must I stay?"

While o'er him fast, through sail and shroud,

The wreathing fires made way.

They wrapt the ship in splendor wild,

They caught the flag on high,

And streamed above the gallant child,

Like banners in the sky.

There came a burst of thunder sound--

The boy -- oh! where was he?

Ask of the winds that far around

With fragments strewed the sea!--

With mast, and helm, and pennon fair

That well had borne their part--

But the noblest thing that perished there

Was that young, faithful heart.        

 

.........................................................................            

Abou Ben Adhem 

By Leigh Hunt (1784–1859) 

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold:—

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said,

"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,

And with a look made of all sweet accord,

Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."

"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"

Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,

But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,

Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night

It came again with a great wakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blest,

And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. 

............................................................................................ 

Silver by  Walter de la Mare

Slowly, silently, now the moon

Walks the night in her silver shoon;

This way, and that, she peers, and sees

Silver fruit upon silver trees;

One by one the casements catch

Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;

Couched in his kennel, like a log,

With paws of silver sleeps the dog;

From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep

Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;

A harvest mouse goes scampering by,

With silver claws and a silver eye;

And moveless fish in the water gleam,

By silver reeds in a silver stream.

........................................................................................

Quote

Don't let