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10 Dec 2002 @ 15:53, by craiglang. Spirituality
Reading Shakti's post on the Earth Sanctuary struck a similar chord within me. I awoke this morning with the sense of not being able to see where the next step was.
The most meaningful metaphor I have heard yet, for ones life path is the concept of following the breadcrumbs. The trail will lead you to where God wants you to go. God alone knows how you will fulfill your life purpose, and destiny. Yet today, when awakening, I realized that I was not able to even guess where the next breadcrumb might be. How could I begin to get there? Is it close? Is it far? Does it even exist? Or even, did the birds eat it? There was the sense that life's path is taking me square into a brick wall. The dream that seems so clear on most days, today seemed to be a distant mirage. Somehow, the road had dead ended. Or had it?
As I got ready to go to work, and as I did my morning moment of meditation, What I was reminded of again is that which I am often reminded of during prayer, meditation, and in the events around me. And this is to know that the time when things look their bleakest can be the very time when the hope can be the brightest.
In the Bible is a statement that "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). And on those days when the next step in the road seems to be far away - when the road seems to go nowhere - it is only faith that keeps us moving.
Shakti speaks of persevering through thick and thin (I won't say what the thick and thin material was...). The highest compliment I could possibly pay her is to simply echo what she says. And sometimes it is only faith - the belief in the dream, hope for that which is not seen - that enables us to continue.
In the end - Faith Manages
Namaste,
-Craig
CL Note 12/10/2002 21:45 CST - Added a post-script about living in the NOW. Check out "More", below... More >
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8 Dec 2002 @ 15:15, by beto. Spirituality
TAOISM TODAY
Tien Cheng Tzu
Existence is a permanent manifestation of the spirit in matter. It is the answer of the receptive matter (mater) to the creative spirit's impregnating action. Both emanate of the great Tao, which is above and beyond matter and spirit, further than to exist or not to exist, and far away from the philosophical mysteries. Tao is the invisible river of nothing that runs behind the things, the phenomena and the events. Chuang Tzu teaches that the Tao is outside the words and the things; it doesn't express for words or the silence. Tao is noticed where neither words nor the silence exist anymore.
To live is not to pursue the visible or immaterial fruits of this world, be them immediate – conquered to the force – or expected in any future, as a reward. To live is not to be subject to the wheels of a gear – mental or physic – where the wandering soul is arrested by some time. To live is to find the inexistent Tao and to let float with him, calmly, amid storms if needed.
The objective of life is not pleasure, nor power, nor wealth, nor erudition, nor the conquest of the virtue, nor spiritual evolution. The objective of the life is to discover the Tao of every moment, to smile, and no more permit you to separate of it. The objective of life is the encounter of the Self when navigating safe along the Tao River. The objective of life is to learn how to navigate in the great river Tao.
While you're still in the way along the little Tao, you seek the knowledge and the wisdom by the development of the four fundamental virtues: Jen, the love-compassion born of honesty that allows to feel the difficulties and the happiness of others as if they were yours; Yi, that is the nobleman's feeling of his duty to the other ones; born of the altruism, it allows to act devoid of personal interest; Li, that is born of the adoration for the Sky and for the Earth, manifesting in the harmonious procedure in which living turns into a permanent ritual. And, finally, Chih, that is the wisdom able to understand everything and is born of the long experience and of the knowledge of the celestial road, where no longer disobedience exists. Thus taught Kung Fu Tzu – known in the Occident as Confucius.
But in the great Tao there are not searches nor virtue, nor objectives, nor obedience, nor any rule to proceed. It is in this great Tao that live the truth and the perfection of acting that we can only accomplish in an imperfect way, darkened by our ignorance and the illusions wrought in the mind.
The subtle secret of acting is the same secret of the essence, of the existence and of life. The objective, therefore, is to find the truth of our existence and to live according to it, simply, avoiding the deviations and seductions.
Until this is gotten our life will be an imperfection, a difficulty, a fight and a problem. It is only for the feeling of the Tao that we can smile of our imperfection, of the difficulties, of the struggle and suffering that settle in our lives. It is only for the existence in the Tao that the problem will be solved, the difficulty and the struggle will be outdated and our actions can head for perfection.
However, the road of the learning is long and full of traps, and to arrive to the marvels it is necessary to pass the traps. The traps of the road are the seductions of transitory, ephemeral and perishable pleasures. Only the fixation of the mind in that which is invisible, silent and without form can assure a safe navigation.
The feeling of the Tao comes through the union of the complementary opposites, in a higher level of consciousness than thinking and the mind. In the level beyond the mind and thinking float what shows as symbols. Symbols are the rafts that bring down to the level of the mind the flashes and insights of a larger consciousness which resides further than thought and words. In the symbols are hidden secrets and mysteries of different degrees, one for each understanding. The superior man – or woman, in equality of conditions – who knows them, doesn't talk about these things: he or she recognizes what is secrecy and cares to preserve the mystery.
The march of a thousand leagues begins with a step. However, it is right that those who fasten attention and mind to the imperishable, even if only for a few minutes daily, are beyond the first step, already. Nonetheless, others hesitate on the sill of the old portal, because they still need to study. This is the long phase of the doubt; disrupted, but necessary. For these, the road still didn't come as such, soaring over the fields and lakes of the imagination. Still, it is necessary to smile and to enter on the road, even without seeing it. It is also necessary to accomplish the decision and not to wait for results; the result will come anyhow. Just as the sleep, when he or she grows drowsy, the result arrives when one doesn't think on it anymore. ButÂ… who is willing to the first and hesitant step?
It is at the lakes of the imagination that the rafts of symbols float, forming strange configurations amongst themselves. To tranquilize the agitation in the surface of the lake is a preliminary task that takes place for no-acting, for no-doing, for the no-knowledge, for silencing, for removing: never for increasing. When the surface is calm, the symbols that float are organized in a rich mandala of changing colors that can only be seen by the central eye of the soul, the window of the spirit that only has a square inch: the eye of Horus.
Happy it is the one who knows the mystery and opens the window of the spirit. Thereafter, nothing else will need to be said. Soon he or she will be received in the palace of Yu-Huang, the Emperor of Jade.
Tien Cheng Tzu is a fictional character of the book The Annals of an Imaginary Symposium, by Beto Hoisel.
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6 Dec 2002 @ 19:09, by cho. Spirituality
deleted More >
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 28 Nov 2002 @ 01:59, by ming. Spirituality
I'm thankful that there is a little girl who will wake me up and take me by the hand to go outside in the wind and sit by the curb to watch the leaves blow off the trees. And who will hand me an instrument so we can march in a parade through the house. Somebody who will remember that it is always a good time for chocolate milk.
I am thankful for other people too. Thankful for love and loyalty, for being there no matter what, for caring, for trusting, for noticing and remembering things I forget. But mostly for waking me up to the preciousness of life in the moment. Making me breathe and making me smile. More >
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27 Nov 2002 @ 20:54, by craiglang. Spirituality
On the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, there doesn't appear on the surface to be much to celebrate. We teeter on the brink of war. The environment seems to be lurching toward oblivion. We seem to be caught between one faction of the world that wants to terrorize us, and another that wants to tyranize us.
Yet even while the world seems to be going to Hell in a handbasket, there is still room for hope and thanks giving. Why? Because we are human. We care, we love, we think, we feel, and above all, we ARE.
At this time, when the material world seems to be at its bleakest, we need to realize that it is just that - the material world. And we are spirits living in the material world - warm little sparks of God, living in human bodies. And when things in the outside world get realy hosed, we still have this for comfort.
So when it seems like there isn't much to be thankful for on this day, we can remember that we are still able to form that or any other viewpoint. This means that we are conscious, spiritual beings with free will. And to me, that in itself is enough to be thankful for.
Namaste,
-Craig More >
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27 Nov 2002 @ 16:54, by sharie. Spirituality
People want to be free, to live in peace, to feel alive, to feel joy and share joy, to feel love and share love, to feel loved and appreciated, and people want to know the truth, and
this is good.
Love with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength... Share your love, enjoy your love...
Love...
Commit your heart to truth and peace, and choose joy.
You'll find a whole new world opening to welcome you.
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3 Nov 2002 @ 17:38, by sharie. Spirituality
All things are possible.
So the question is: What do I believe in most?
What do I want most?
More than anything, I believe in eternal life.
I feel life eternal, both inside and outside of me. The Spirit of Life is eternal.
More than anything, I want Heaven on Earth.
The focus of my Newslog focus is becoming more and more about Heaven on Earth.
It's the best of all possible worlds - human, earthly, spiritual, and cosmic.
How does Heaven on Earth come to be?
Heaven on Earth is here now. It always has been here now.
The real question is "how do we come to be heaven"?
We have always been heaven on earth. It's simply a matter of awakening to the truth of who we are.
Humankind has a consciousness, which we experience in our daily lives.
Each of us has a mind of our own, and a vast spectrum of beliefs, experiences, and goals to choose from...
rather magnificent when you think of it, because there is so much we can comprehend and retrieve, inter-relate and construct.
The Earth also has a consciousness, an intelligence, a brilliance... a vast array of life forms, each with their own goals.
Minerals have a consciousness, a life form, which your body depends on (iron, magnesium, carbon, and so on) You'd be dead if it weren't for the life-force - the consciousness - in the minerals.
Gases have a consciousness too. You'd be dead without the life-force in oxygen, nitrogen, and so on.
The cosmos too has a consciousness, an intelligence, balancing the planets, the expansion and contraction of suns and solar systems...
The source of all of the physical realm -here on earth, human life, and throughout the cosmos - is intelligent. To some, it is God. Others call it nirvana. People around the world, from cultures of every variety, have their own name for the All-Knowing.
What is the meaning of this intelligent universe?
That the oneness of consciousness be embraced in all of life.
This is heaven on earth.
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19 Oct 2002 @ 15:15, by sharie. Spirituality
As beings of light, our multi-faceted brilliance allows us to experience the manifestation of anything we choose. The question is "what do we choose?"
If you wonder what you choose, the answer is:
you choose what you experience.
If you want to choose to experience something different than what you have been experiencing, you can choose that too.
The question is "what do you want to choose?"
I choose the best of all possible worlds, and since anything is possible, I choose heaven on earth, which I think must surely be better than heaven in the sky. It seems to be that the Earth is such a wonderful and marvelous place. And that *heaven after death* place is not that appealing to me.
So I've been focusing my investigation on heaven on earth, and have been discovering quite a lot about it. It's a way of life with loving kindness and heavenly place. A magical, miraculous realm of beauty and wonder. I believe in this more than I believe in anything, so I'm choosing to focus my heart and mind on the realm and the kingdom of heaven on earth.
I'll keep you posted of my progress.
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20 Sep 2002 @ 05:42, by tdeane. Spirituality
All things happen for a reason, Andy, and I can only assume your hurt, however temporary and which I felt, was yet one more example of the interconnectedness we share when we are receptive to each other. I hold hurt only temporarily, as well, and use it to go to that place, that special connection we have, I believe, the brain ~ the logical brain ~ where I connect to my godmind through my child eyes.
When I went to that place with what I had written in the comment I posted, it was translated into positive cosmic energy that reads like this: All that you have experienced here in NCN, both people and events, have been necessary and beautiful illuminations along your path.
Go now to that place we both love, the world of the mind, and from there transport yourself into the skies to the tiniest star there is, where you will find me. I am the littlest, clumsiest angel, with two kittens in my arms, a broken wing, and a bandage on my nose from my foot hitting my face when I forget to open my mouth, and I am connected to my siamese twin soul, simpleman. (Nothing's broken on him). Okay, now let's fly together around the world that I have discovered, and which I promised I would tell you about.
The first thing I must tell you is that the Universe, the God of Gods (my God is genderless), needed to create a species similar to the antibodies in the mini-universe of your physical body. The heart of the Universe in my world is the beautiful blue Earth, my Mother. God, my Father, the Cosmic Brain, created humanity, born of the Earth so we would have true "heart," to lovingly bring into balance and protect that which has been created, as the Universe continues to expand infinitely to open continuous possibilities for all it has created. Can you also see the mini-Universe in NCN, Ming's metaphor of his Universe, and how he is doing the same thing, creating more opportunities? Can you also see the analogy in the membership of NCN and the responsibilities and healing possibilities entailed in this particular universe?
In the infinite wisdom of the Cosmic Brain, the first lessons of humanity have been the harshest, because before endowing us with our full power, we first had to learn what the misuse of this power could do. This is why humanity is in turmoil as it is. Our spirits are ancient, reliving over and over the mistakes right up to the edge of the cliff, so it has become embedded in our psyche how power cannot be used. The most ancient of spirits are those of the most oppressed, the most downtrodden, the most rejected, the most wicked, and the forgotten ones. It is thus, because the most ancient have the most wisdom and strength to withstand the pain. Seek out that wisdom, and you will find the missing data needed to access the solutions from the Cosmic Brain.
Each and every human being has been given a purpose without blame from the Universe. The Earth moving off its axis and exploding into bits and pieces is a message, as we see so often in Nature. It can occur if we let it, or we can choose to see that our first healing job involves coming together as a species so that the Earth may remain whole. To keep the Earth on its axis, we must restore balance, and we must do so by first accepting that the Universe loves us equally, and no matter how great or small ours jobs are, they are of equal importance in the Universe's Master Plan, as It relentlessly pursues more opportunities, more adventures for Itself and us, Its healing, protective cells.
Humanity is thus far It's most treasured, trusted and prized creation, so all of the solutions are simple ~ we have endured enough pain. The other 90% of our brain can be accessed simply by opening our minds with compassion and accepting equality and creating and maintaining the integrity of minimal logical systems. This will restore balance and we will heal our Mother, the heart of the Universe.
Remember, all knowledge we believe we have acquired must be re-examined with these things in mind. Because of being in our most imperfect state, this knowledge has been tainted.
It is not God who will ascend us; it is us who will ascend to the level of Gods, when we do these things, and the Earth will be restored to its perfect state by us.
You are an Indigo Child. You are thus because you have been told you are. I am an older Indigo Child because I am an orphan, I am simply called by a different name, God's child. All children young and old are Indigo Children. This is the importance of accessing the childmind in all. If they are told this and treated as such, so it will be. Perhaps part of your purpose may be communicating this to them, and opening their minds as yours has been opened. Only you can know that, because knowing your purpose will bring everything in the Universe together into a meaningful whole when it is true and you feel the doors to the other 90% opening.
This is my story, Andy, my cosmic child. Use this merely as a template for creating your story in a loving Universe of limitless possibilities. May you journey well, happily, profoundly in harmony with all that is.
As always, I surround us all with spiritual hugs and much love ~ Tricia
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7 Sep 2002 @ 17:39, by craiglang. Spirituality
What is a sacred space?
As I watched the evening news, one story was about the current discussions on what to do with the site of the former WTC. Some want to leave it as an open air shrine. Others want to rebuild the towers, but most want it to be a sacred space of some type.
So, what is a sacred space? It has a different meaning to each person. But to me, it is a place with special meaing - a spiritual location where, to me, God is reflected in place. It is a place that we make, but God enhances.
It asks for love. And it softly, forgivingly requests that we respect it. Our sacred spaces are us, and they are God. More >
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