itsallaboutone

Stranger in a Strange Land - Leon Russell

2011-07-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

2010-12-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Harmony

I express God's love and create harmony and happiness wherever I am.

To establish peace in my own heart or harmony in any situation, I choose to express God's love.

Perhaps there is someone in my life who I find difficult or disagreeable. Love may not flow spontaneously from me toward this person. But I can let love flow spontaneously to God, and in loving God, I develop understanding and compassion toward others.

I am able to see that beneath a difficult disposition is a heart trying to find love. I am able to see that inner peace and outer harmony are generated through the giving of love. Love's warmth causes us to unify and cooperate with each other.

I turn my heart toward God, finding in my love for God a full heart for loving others.

We love the children of God, when we love God.--1 John 5:2

2010-12-02T01:13:00.001-08:00

I had a dream last night on Dec 1st. My deceased X-Wife and I were sitting on the beach at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii. She was laughing at the pictures and videos I was showing her on the Laptop and said that she knew the Lady in the funny hat from a past life. "Oh really!" tell me about it I said..."She and I were best friends when we were Plain Indians of the Sisco tribe." Just then, Kay, who was laying on a towel to my left, replied "Now I remember where I know you from Rosie, isn't it funny how we keep running into each other in each reincarnation?" Just then I heard the phone ringing and I was snapped back into reality...I forgot the dream until later when I was lighting that first candle right behind Lulu! I find it hard to believe but now know that dream was Kay's way of telling me she and Rosie were Soul Sisters and not to worry myself about her transition...This thing we call reality is just a way station between dreams...I have been blessed by knowing and loving them both...

Practical Spirituality

2010-11-14T04:23:00.000-08:00

Reflections on the Spiritual Basis of Nonviolent Communication.

A Q&A Session with

Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.

Simple Abundance

2010-10-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

*image source

WORD FOR THE DAY
Wednesday, Oct. 20

Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

The Magical Power of WORDS to Create Your Destiny

2010-09-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Verse 81

2010-08-31T20:27:00.001-07:00

Here's a quote I value a lot (seriously).

"There is a beginning. There is no beginning of that beginning. There is no beginning of that no beginning of beginning. There is something. There is nothing. There is something before the beginning of something and nothing, and something before that. Suddenly there is something and nothing. But between something and nothing, I still don't really know which is something and which is nothing. Now, I've just said something, but I don't really know whether I've said anything or not.''

It's 2500 year old Taoist scripture attributed to Chuang Tzu. No, it's not a joke - in fact I consider it a very good explanation - but I find it very helpful to remind myself just how much of the universe we can understand by our rational mind alone. Things like eternity and the ever present "now" are like that. But it does make me laugh!

Late Night Music Club

2010-08-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

Massive Attack's Mezzanine is one of my favorite albums of the 90's and this song is my favorite on the record. The track features vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins and is said to be written about her good friend Jeff Buckley. Let's get ethereal!

Crooks and Liars

The Traceless Warrior: Old Hippies Rawk

2010-08-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

The Traceless Warrior: Old Hippies Rawk

Golden Dylan

2010-08-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan World Tour 1966

Waltizing Matilda

2010-08-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Tom Waits - Tom Traubert's Blues from Mackie/Raindog309 on Vimeo.

Sour, Doughy, Raw, and Numb

2010-08-03T10:55:00.001-07:00

Come One, Come All..., originally uploaded by MOmilkman - Darin House.

If we’re not together in the heart,
what’s the point? When body and soul

aren’t dancing, there’s no pleasure
in colorful clothing. Why have

cooking pans when there’s no food in
the house? In this world full of

fresh bread, amber, and musk, so many
different fragrances, what are they

to someone who has no sense of smell?
If you stay away from the fire, you’ll

be sour, doughy, numb, and raw. You
may have lovely, just baked loaves

around you, but those friends cannot
help. You have to feel oven fire.

~A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Luna Moth

2010-07-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

The landscape looks different from every blade of grass.~Amphorism Of the Day

Image from Missouri Conservationist, June 2010 credit Noppadol Paothong

The Circle

2010-07-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

"How can I make this circle more round?"

Someone asked me this question once and it gave me pause. We were questioning the thought, "Things will never get better." We realized things will never get better because there is nothing but perfection, and perfection can't get any better.

We block the natural unfolding of beneficence by trying to improve things, since efforts to improve are founded on notions of scarcity and end up reinforcing notions of deficiency.
~Colleen Loehr

John Lennon with Cheap Trick- I´m losing you

2010-07-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Blogged on Facebook

2010-07-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Spirals - David Eagleman

2010-06-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Startling Starlings

2010-05-30T09:45:00.001-07:00

Startling Starlings, originally uploaded by amythyst_lake.

Kabbalah 365 - Daily Fruit from the Tree of Life
by Gershon Winkler

Day 150

The soul manifests in the body as a flock of birds. Each bird perches on a particular limb and organ of the body. Nestled upon each and every branch of the body, for they are the branches of the Tree, these birds sing the life force into manifestation within every limb and organ, filling them with divine light through every manner of song.

- Sefer Ha'Zohar, Vol 4, folio 228a

Dell C5100

2010-05-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

Another new computer to play around with..
It stopped working 'cause somebody doesn't know how to keep Trojans off their system.
Works perfect when you clean it up...

Jack Johnson It s All Understood & Ocean Sunset

2010-05-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Up a Tree

2010-05-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well low and behold my picture is found.

Schumann's Resonance

2010-02-04T20:59:00.001-08:00

Ohmmmmm =)

Farther and Farther from Zero

2010-01-23T21:42:00.001-08:00

Suddenly, I fall from the pavilion
into a place where I see the ugliness,
hypocrisy, rouge on a sunken face,
a thorn lodged in a kidney, the blind crone
holding a laurel wreath for the winner,
her black ribbons in shreds,
her eyes dark with purple,
a gold anklet on her shriveled leg.

The puppet show looks charming,
but go behind the screen and see who runs it.

Wash your hands and face of this charade.
Anyone who wants these prizes
flares up quickly like a wood chip.

There is one who can help,
who turns the wheel from nonexistence
to a sweet-breathing emptiness.

Words are ways we add up breath,
counting stress and syllable
with our exacting musical knack
that takes us farther and farther from zero.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

[Caption]

Extraterrestrials... Our Creators and Custodians...

2010-01-23T21:28:00.001-08:00

back with more..

Avatar

2010-01-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

Life & Death

2010-01-10T10:31:00.001-08:00

a secret turning in us
makes the universe turn.
head unaware of feet,
and feet head. neither cares.
they keep turning.
this moment this love comes to rest in me,
many beings in one being.
in one wheat grain a thousand sheaf stacks.
inside the needles eye a turning night of stars.
keep walking, though there’s no place to get to.
don’t try to see through the distances.
that’s not for human beings. Move within,
but don’t move the way fear makes you move.
something opens our wings. Something
makes boredom and hurt disappear.
someone fills the cup in front of us.
we taste only sacredness.
I stand up, and this one of me
turns into a hundred of me.
they say I circle around you,
nonsense, I circle around me.

Rainbow Warriors

2010-01-09T18:40:00.003-08:00

Harmony

2010-01-06T11:47:00.001-08:00

Osho Zen Tarot

Osho Zen Tarot
57. Harmony

Zen Tarot Card
Harmony

Listen to your heart, move according to your heart, whatsoever the stake: A condition of complete simplicity costing not less than everything.... To be simple is arduous, because to be simple costs everything that you have. You have to lose all to be simple.That's why people have chosen to be complex and they have forgotten how to be simple. But only a simple heart throbs with God, hand in hand. Only a simple heart sings with God in deep harmony. To reach to that point you will have to find your heart, your own throb, your own beat.

Osho Dang Dang Doko Dang Chapter 3
Commentary:

The experience of resting in the heart in meditation is not something that can be grasped or forced. It comes naturally, as we grow more and more in tune with the rhythms of our own inner silences. The figure on this card reflects the sweetness and delicacy of this experience. The dolphins that emerge from the heart and make an arc towards the third eye reflect the playfulness and intelligence that comes when we are able to connect with the heart and move into the world from there. Let yourself be softer and more receptive now, because an inexpressible joy is waiting for you just around the corner. Nobody else can point it out to you, and when you find it you won't be able to find the words to express it to others. But it's there, deep within your heart, ripe and ready to be discovered.

The Most Beautiful Thing Ever Filmed - American Beauty [HQ]

2010-01-04T15:08:00.001-08:00

A footnote for further reflection.

Howard Jones - Hide and Seek (RARE! Music Video)

2010-01-03T12:13:00.001-08:00

There was a time when there was nothing at al
Nothing at all, just a distant hum
There was a being and he lived on his own
He had no one to talk to, and nothing to do
He drew up the plans, learnt to work with his hands
A million years passed by and his work was done
And his words were these...

Hope you find it in everything, everything that you see
Hope you find it in everything, everything that you see
Hope you find it, hope you find it
Hope you find me in you

So she had built her elaborate home
With its ups and its downs, its rains and its sun
She decided that her work was done, time to have fun
And she found a game to play

Then as part of the game
She completely forgot where shed hidden herself
And she spent the rest of her time
Trying to find the parts

Hope you find it in everything, everything that you see
Hope you find it in everything, everything that you see
Hope you find it, hope you find it
Hope you find me in you

There was a time when there was nothing at all, nothing at all
Just a distant hum

A Quiet Mind ..2010

2009-12-31T20:20:00.001-08:00

A QUIET MIND ..2010 - THE UNIVERSAL LOUNGE

A Quiet Mind

Listening to a bell ringing at dusk, one finds that the quietness outside is also inside. Sunrise and sunset are the quietest moments of the day. In those few moments, all things seem attentive to the day as it rises and as it closes. The same rhythm is reflected internally. There are few times when the mind is quiet. As one wakes in bed, for one or two moments, the mind has nothing to say, and again as one goes to sleep, there is a fleeting moment when the mind is quiet and reposed. For these few moments, one's mind is clear.

Otherwise, one's mind is an experience of contradictions. The many I's of thought, perception and emotion that arise from the human functions are not intended to oppose each other, but cannot peaceably share the same space. The I's cannot be unified, much like warring chieftains who claim the same cultural history but have no form of government. Without presence, the I's control one's psychology. One's thinking becomes unfocused, accidental, or determined by external events. One becomes happy or sad because the I's anticipate an external event, which then never happens.

Yet the mind can rise above the noisy arena of the I's and pass into 'a purer mind with tranquil restoration'. But this facility does not come by itself. It comes from raising one's awareness, from paying attention to the small moments of one's day. With a receptive mind, one listens to music, a conversation, incidental sounds, and a state grows that has no opinion or preference, but just quietly is. By listening, one finds silence. One becomes a still calm point in a turning universe. One hears the still small voice of God.

Many thanks to Maria Angelica Sassone

Counting Crows - A Long December

2009-12-31T10:13:00.001-08:00

This makes just about as much sense and anything else.
Happy New Year.

Rumi Frog

2009-12-17T08:50:00.001-08:00

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

A Mouse and a Frog

A mouse and a frog meet every morning on the riverbank.
They sit in a nook of the ground and talk.

Each morning, the second they see each other,
they open easily, telling stories and dreams and secrets,
empty of any fear or suspicious holding-back.

To watch and listen to those two
is to understand how, as it is written,
sometimes when two beings come together,
Christ becomes visible.

The mouse starts laughing out a story he hasn't thought of in five years, and the telling might take five years.

There is no blocking the speechflow-river-running-
all-carrying momentum that true intimacy is.

Bitterness doesn't have a chance with those two.
The God-messenger Khidr touches a roasted fish.
It leaps off the grill back into the water.

Friend sits by Friend, and the tablets appear.
They read the mysteries off each other's foreheads.

But one day the mouse complains, There are times
when I want sohbet, and you're out in the water,
jumping around where you can't hear me.

We meet at this appointed time,
but the text says, Lovers pray constantly.

Once a day, once a week, fives times an hour,
is not enough. Fish like we are
need the ocean around us.

Do camel bells say, Let's meet back here Thursday night?
Ridiculous. They jingle
together continuously,
talking while the camel walks.

Do you pay regular visits to yourself?
Don't argue or answer rationally.

Let us die,
and dying, reply.

* This is the night Rumi died, in 1273.

TIME - PINK FLOYD

2009-12-11T17:48:00.001-08:00

The time has come...

the time has come
to break all my promises
tear apart all chains
and cast away all advice

disassemble the heavens
link by link
and break at once
all lovers' ties
with the sword of death

put cotton inside
both my ears
and close them to
all words of wisdom

crash the door and
enter the chamber
where all sweet
things are hidden

how long can i
beg and bargain
for the things of this world
while love is waiting

how long before
i can rise beyond
how i am and
what i am

Ghazal 1591 Translated by Nader Khalili

You think the shadow is the substance ~ Rumi

2009-12-01T07:59:00.001-08:00

You think the shadow is the substance ~ Rumi, originally uploaded by MagicAttic88.

Awkward Comparison

This physical world has no two things alike.
Every comparison is awkwardly rough.

You can put a lion next to a man,
but the placing is hazardous to both.

Say the body is like this lamp.
It has to have a wick and oil, sleep and food.
If it doesn't get those, it will die,
and it is always burning those up, trying to die.

But where is the sun in this comparison?
It rises, and the lamp's light
mixes with the day.

Oneness, which is the true reality,
cannot be understood with lamp and sun images,
and the blurring of a plural into a unity is wrong.

No image can describe
what of our fathers and mothers,
our grandfathers and grandmothers, remains.

Language does not touch
the one who lives in both of us.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Awakened Karma Mystery Earth Spirit Mass Consciousness

2009-11-14T08:55:00.001-08:00

Future+Past=NOW

Biomimicry

2009-11-11T17:24:00.001-08:00

Chinese Man ~ Surah 107

2009-11-10T11:09:00.004-08:00

Chinese Man - I've got that tune
Uploaded by Believe. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Spontaneous DNA, The Rapture, and The Rise to Fourth Density

2009-10-31T10:35:00.001-07:00

More to come.

Heart Space

2009-10-19T12:08:00.001-07:00

Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi

Heart

The deliciousness of milk and honey is the reflection of the pure heart:
from that heart the sweetness of every sweet thing is derived.
The heart is the substance, and the world the accident:
how should the heart's shadow be the object of the heart's desire?
Is that pure heart the heart that is enamored of riches or power,
or is submissive to this black earth and water of the body,
or to vain fancies it worships in the darkness for the sake of fame?
The heart is nothing but the Sea of Light:
is the heart the place of vision of God--and then blind?
[III, 2265-9]

On Resurrection Day God will ask,
"During this reprieve I gave you,
what have you produced for Me?
Through what work have you reached your life's end?
Your food and your strength, for what have they been consumed?
Where have you dimmed the luster of your eye?
Where have you dissipated your five senses?
You have expended eyes and ears and intellect
and the pure celestial substances;
what have you purchased from the earth?
I gave you hands and feet as spade and mattock
for tilling the soil of good works;
when did they by themselves become existent?
[III, 2147-2153]

You know the value of every article of merchandise,
but if you don't know the value of your own soul,
it's all foolishness.
You've come to know the fortunate and the inauspicious stars;
but you don't know whether you yourself are fortunate or unclean.
This, this is the essence of all sciences -
that you should know who you will be when Judgment Day arrives.
[III, 2652-4]

Surely there is a window from heart to heart:
they are not separate and far from each other.
Two earthenware lamps are not joined,
but their light is mingled as it moves.
No lover seeks union without the beloved seeking;
but the love of lovers makes the body thin as a bowstring,
while the love of loved ones makes them comely and plump.
When the lightning of love for the beloved
has shot into this heart, know that there is love in that heart.
When love for God has been doubled in your heart,
there is no doubt that God has love for you.
[III, 4391-6]

Know that between the Faithful is an ancient union.
The Faithful are numerous, but the Faith is one:
their bodies are numerous, but their soul is one.
Besides the understanding which is in the ox and the ass,
the human being has another intelligence and soul;
Again, in the saint, the owner of Divine breath,
there is a soul and intelligence other than human.
The souls of wolves and dogs are separate, every one,
but the souls of the Lions of God are in union.
[IV, 407-10;414]

There are two kinds of intelligence.
One is like that acquired by a child at school,
from books and teachers, new ideas and memorization.
Your intelligence may become superior to others,
but retaining all that knowledge is a heavy load.
You who are occupied in searching for knowledge
are a preserving tablet,
but the preserved tablet is the one who has gone beyond all this.
For the other kind of intelligence is the gift of God:
its fountain is in the midst of the soul.
When the water of God-given knowledge gushes from the breast,
it doesn't become fetid or impure.
And if its way to the outside is blocked, what harm is there?
For it gushes continually from the house of the heart.
The acquired intelligence is like the conduits
which run into the house from the streets:
If those pipes become blocked, the house is bereft of water.
Seek the fountain from within yourself.
[IV, 1960-68]

In the orchard a Sufi inclined his face Sufi fashion upon his knee,
and sank deeply into mystical absorption.
An rude man nearby became annoyed:
"Why are you sleeping?" he exclaimed.
Look at the vines, behold the trees and the signs of God's mercy.
Pay attention to the Lord's command:
Look ye and turn your face toward these signs of His mercy."
The Sufi replied, "O heedless one, the true signs are within the heart:
that which is external is only the sign of the signs."
The real orchard and vineyards are within the very essence of the soul:
the reflection upon that which is external
is like a reflection in running water.
In the water only a reflected image of the orchard
quivers with the water's subtle movement.
The real orchards and fruit flourish within the heart:
the reflection of their beauty
falls upon the water and earth of this world.
If this world were not merely the reflection
of that delectable cypress, the heart of the saint,
then God would not have called it the abode of deception.
Oh happy is the one who has died before death,
for he has become acquainted with the origin of this vineyard.
[IV, 1358-66;72]

Translated by Camille and Kabir Helminski

Rumi

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice. Joy is prayer - Joy is strength - Joy is love - Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

2009-10-15T16:35:00.001-07:00

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice. Joy is prayer - Joy is strength - Joy is love - Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls., originally uploaded by _ØяAcLә_.

Joy is prayer... Joy is strength... Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. She gives most who gives with you. ~ Mother Tereas

Club Pictures

2009-10-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Give Thanks

2009-10-06T13:04:00.001-07:00

Give Thanks, originally uploaded by ital4all.

Sept 28th Five Card Draw

2009-09-27T15:40:00.001-07:00

17. Silence

Silence

The energy of the whole has taken possession of you. You are possessed, you are no more, the whole is.

This moment, as the silence penetrates in you, you can understand the significance of it, because it is the same silence that Gautam Buddha experienced. It is the same silence that Chuang Tzu or Bodhidharma or Nansen.... The taste of the silence is the same.

Time changes, the world goes on changing, but the experience of silence, the joy of it, remains the same. That is the only thing you can rely upon, the only thing that never dies. It is the only thing that you can call your very being.

Osho Zen: The Diamond Thunderbolt Chapter 1

Commentary:

The silent, mirrorlike receptiveness of a star-filled night with a full moon is reflected in the misty lake below. The face in the sky is deep in meditation, a goddess of the night who brings depth, peace and understanding.

Now is a very precious time. It will be easy for you to rest inside, to plumb the depths of your own inner silence to the point where it meets the silence of the universe. There's nothing to do, nowhere to go, and the quality of your inner silence permeates everything you do.

It might make some people uncomfortable, accustomed as they are to all the noise and activity of the world. Never mind; seek out those who can resonate with your silence - or enjoy your aloneness. Now is the time to come home to yourself. The understanding and insights that come to you in these moments will be manifested later on, in a more outgoing phase of your life.

1. Existence

Existence

You are not accidental. Existence needs you. Without you something will be missing in existence and nobody can replace it. That's what gives you dignity, that the whole existence will miss you. The stars and sun and moon, the trees and birds and earth - everything in the universe will feel a small place is vacant which cannot be filled by anybody except you.

This gives you a tremendous joy, a fulfillment that you are related to existence, and existence cares for you. Once you are clean and clear, you can see tremendous love falling on you from all dimensions.

Osho God is Dead: Now Zen is the Only Living Truth Chapter 1

Commentary:

This naked figure sits on the lotus leaf of perfection, gazing at the beauty of the night sky. She knows that "home" is not a physical place in the outside world, but an inner quality of relaxation and acceptance. The stars, the rocks, the trees, the flowers, fish and birds - all are our brothers and sisters in this dance of life. We human beings tend to forget this, as we pursue our own private agendas and believe we must fight to get what we need. But ultimately, our sense of separateness is just an illusion, manufactured by the narrow preoccupations of the mind.

Now is the time to look at whether you are allowing yourself to receive the extraordinary gift of feeling "at "home" wherever you are. If you are, be sure to take time to savor it so it can deepen and remain with you. If on the other hand you've been feeling like the world is out to get you, it's time to take a break. Go outside tonight and look at the stars.

21. Completion

Completion

This is the way of Zen, not to say things to their completion. This has to be understood; it is a very important methodology. Not to say everything means to give an opportunity to the listener to complete it.

All answers are incomplete. The master has only given you a direction... By the time you reach the limit, you will know what is going to remain. This way, if somebody is trying to understand Zen intellectually he will fail. It is not an answer to the question but something more than the answer. It is indicating the very reality....

The buddha nature is not something far away - your very consciousness is buddha nature. And your consciousness can witness these things which constitute the world. The world will end but the mirror will remain, mirroring nothing.

Osho Joshu: The Lion's Roar Chapter 5

Commentary:

Here, the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle is being put into its place, the position of the third eye, the place of inner perception.

Even in the ever-changing flow of life there are moments in which we come to a point of completion. In these moments we are able to perceive the whole picture, the composite of all the small pieces that have occupied our attention for so long. In the finishing, we can either be in despair because we don't want the situation to come to an end, or we can be grateful and accepting of the fact that life is full of endings and new beginnings.

Whatever has been absorbing your time and energy is now coming to an end. In completing it, you will be clearing the space for something new to begin. Use this interval to celebrate both - the end of the old and the coming of the new.

64. Politics

Politics

Anybody who can be a good pretender, a hypocrite, will become your leader politically, will become your priest religiously. All that he needs is hypocrisy, all that he needs is cunningness, all that he needs is a facade to hide behind. Your politicians live double lives, your priests live double lives--one from the front door, the other from the back door. And the back-door life is their real life. Those front-door smiles are just false, those faces looking so innocent are just cultivated. If you want to see the reality of the politician you will have to see him from his back door. There he is in his nudity, as he is, and so is the priest. These two kinds of cunning people have dominated humanity. And they found out very early on that if you want to dominate humanity, make it weak, make it feel guilty, make it feel unworthy. Destroy its dignity, take all glory away from it, humiliate it. And they have found such subtle ways of humiliation that they don't come in the picture at all; they leave it to you to humiliate yourself, to destroy yourself. They have taught you a kind of slow suicide.

Osho The White Lotus Chapter 10

Commentary:

Do you recognize this man? All but the most innocent and sincere of us have a politician lurking somewhere in our minds. In fact, the mind is political. Its very nature is to plan and scheme and try to manipulate situations and people so that it can get what it wants. Here, the mind is represented by the snake, covered with clouds and "speaking with a forked tongue". But the important thing to realize about this card is that both faces are false. The sweet, innocent, "trust me" face is a mask, and the evil, toxic, "I'll have my way with you" face is a mask, too. Politicians don't have real faces. The whole game is a lie. Take a good look at yourself to see if you have been playing this game. What you see might be painful, but not as painful as continuing to play. It doesn't serve anybody's interest in the end, least of all yours. Whatever you might achieve in this way will just turn to dust in your hands.

4. The Rebel

Zen Tarot Card
The Rebel

People are afraid, very much afraid of those who know themselves. They have a certain power, a certain aura and a certain magnetism, a charisma that can take out alive, young people from the traditional imprisonment....

The enlightened man cannot be enslaved - that is the difficulty - and he cannot be imprisoned.... Every genius who has known something of the inner is bound to be a little difficult to be absorbed; he is going to be an upsetting force. The masses don't want to be disturbed, even though they may be in misery; they are in misery, but they are accustomed to the misery. And anybody who is not miserable looks like a stranger.

The enlightened man is the greatest stranger in the world; he does not seem to belong to anybody. No organization confines him, no community, no society, no nation.

Osho The Zen Manifesto: Freedom from Oneself Chapter 9
Commentary:

The powerful and authoritative figure in this card is clearly the master of his own destiny. On his shoulder is an emblem of the sun, and the torch he holds in his right hand symbolizes the light of his own hard-won truth.

Whether he is wealthy or poor, the Rebel is really an emperor because he has broken the chains of society's repressive conditioning and opinions. He has formed himself by embracing all the colors of the rainbow, emerging from the dark and formless roots of his unconscious past and growing wings to fly into the sky. His very way of being is rebellious - not because he is fighting against anybody or anything, but because he has discovered his own true nature and is determined to live in accordance with it. The eagle is his spirit animal, a messenger between earth and sky.

The Rebel challenges us to be courageous enough to take responsibility for who we are and to live our truth.

Fall Equinox 2009

2009-09-22T17:34:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

by DL Zeta

The Fall Equinox arrives this week to signal new beginnings. Big changes loom on the horizon along with new opportunities to align with Divine will. New manifestations and new clearings will go hand-in-hand during this time.

This week's Equinox comes on the heels of a powerful New Moon flanked by a Sun/ Moon/ Mercury/Saturn conjunction opposed by Uranus. These Virgo planets quincunx the ongoing Jupiter/Chiron/Neptune alignment in Aquarius, leaving little doubt as to the nature of the energies (and opportunities) present at this time.

Holding Strengths and Weaknesses in Our Expanded Vision

Uranus urges us to bring forth new insights from our higher self and integrate these into our daily existence. Add to this Saturn's influence, which requires us to clear all that stands in the way of this integration, and brings us face-to-face with all that has limited us in the past.

Mercury's retrograde until September 29 insures that we remain in a holding pattern for this clearing to take place. During this time, we’re asked to hold our new visions and insights side-by-side with any perceived limitations we still hold. As we observe these two in juxtaposition, we receive the clarity needed to chart our course in coming months.

Any visions and guidance we receive during this time will be designed to help us set forth on a new path more strongly aligned with our life purpose. This path will ask us to bring new strengths of determination and discipline to our spiritual practices.

Adopting New Disciplines that Promote Health and Vitality

This is the time to adopt new disciplines that strengthen the flow of life force into our physical system. It is our inner will and desire to transform Planet Earth that will determine our continued health and well-being.

In recent years, much has come to be understood about the mind-body connection and how our thoughts and feelings strengthen or weaken us. Muscle testing is an example of this concept. Through the window of muscle testing, we can readily see how our thoughts and words along with the messages we receive from our environment strengthen or weaken us.

There has been much talk about "vaccination plans" against certain pathogens and pandemics. The best "health insurance" plan is to fine-tune our awareness of our environment -- both inner and outer – and how we allow ourselves to be affected by it. This includes not only the messages that surround us but messages we receive from aspects within our own consciousness. These aspects can either strengthen and empower us or weaken and disempower us.

Now is the time to gain awareness of every aspect of our environment and our consciousness and determine what needs to be transformed.

Eating ‘Light’ Removes Barriers to Life Force Flow

In coming times, we will be asked to further strengthen our physical systems by "eating light." This involves eating a mostly living foods diet that includes calorie restriction and regular infusions of alkaline green juices. These “rocket fuel” foods raise our vibrational frequency, removing any barriers to life force flow.

Another facet of this "new time" is to practice yoga which brings physical, mental, emotional and spiritual flexibility. It is flexibility at all levels that allows us to "go with the flow". Flexibility allows us to access and make the most of new portals now opening. These portals lead to the super health and vitality that is the gateway to heightened or peak states, expanded awareness, and all the blessings that accelerated spiritual understandings offer.

For more information, visit http://www.celestialvision.org

Talk Like a Pirate Day: The Five A's

2009-09-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

Avast, me hearties!

46. Exhaustion

2009-09-15T17:01:00.001-07:00

Osho Zen Tarot

A man who lives through conscience becomes hard. A man who lives through consciousness remains soft. Why?--because a man who has some ideas about how to live, naturally becomes hard. He has continuously to carry his character around himself. That character is like an armor; his protection, his security; his whole life is invested in that character. And he always reacts to situations through the character, not directly. If you ask him a question, his answer is ready-made. That is the sign of a hard person--he is dull, stupid, mechanical. He may be a good computer, but he is not a man. You do something and he reacts in a well- established way. His reaction is predictable; he is a robot. The real man acts spontaneously. If you ask him a question, your question gets a response, not a reaction. He opens his heart to your question, exposes himself to your question, responds to it.... Osho Take it Easy, Volume 1 Chapter 13

Commentary:

This is the portrait of one whose whole life energy has been depleted in his efforts to keep fueling the enormous and ridiculous machine of self-importance and productivity. He has been so busy "keeping it all together" and "making sure everything runs smoothly", that he has forgotten to really rest. No doubt he can't allow himself to be playful. To abandon his duty for a trip to the beach could mean the whole structure might come tumbling down. The message of this card is not just about being a workaholic though. It is about all the ways in which we set up safe but unnatural routines for ourselves and, by doing so, keep the chaotic and spontaneous away from our doors. Life isn't a business to be managed, it's a mystery to be lived. It's time to tear up the time-card, break out of the factory, and take a little trip into the uncharted. Your work can flow more smoothly from a relaxed state of mind.

"rumi"

2009-09-12T07:40:00.001-07:00

"rumi", originally uploaded by holgababe.

For Us This Day

My soul keeps whispering, Quickly,
be a wandering dervish,
a salamander sitting in its homefire.

Walk about watching the burning
turn to roses. As this love-secret
we are both blasphemy and the core of Islam.

Do not wait. The open plain is better
than any closing door. Ravens love ruins
and cemetery trees. They cannot help but fly there.

But for us this day is friends sitting together
with silence shining in our faces.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Eternity's Sunrise

2009-09-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Atma Shatakam (Shivanjali) - Deva Premal - More amazing video clips are a click away

The Wombat (All is One)

2009-09-03T09:51:00.001-07:00

"Alienation" by Miss Magikal (Video by Catzmagick)

2009-08-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

Maturity No. 78

2009-08-28T16:34:00.001-07:00

Osho Zen Tarot

The distinction between the grasses and the blossoms is the same as between you not knowing that you are a buddha, and the moment you know that you are a buddha. In fact, there is no way to be otherwise. Buddha is completely blossomed, fully opened. His lotuses, his petals, have come to a completion.... Certainly, to be full of spring yourself is far more beautiful than the autumn dew falling on the lotus leaves. That is one of the most beautiful things to watch: when autumn dew falls on the lotus leaves and shine in the morning sun like real pearls. But of course it is a momentary experience. As the sun rises, the autumn dew starts evaporating.... This temporary beauty cannot be compared, certainly, with an eternal spring in your being. You look back as far as you can and it has always been there. You look forward as much as you can, and you will be surprised: it is your very being. Wherever you are it will be there, and the flowers will continue to shower on you. This is spiritual spring.

Osho No Mind: The Flowers of Eternity Chapter 5
Commentary:

This figure stands alone, silent and yet alert. The inner being is filled with flowers--that carry the quality of springtime and regenerate wherever he goes. This inner flowering and the wholeness that he feels affords the possibility of unlimited movement. He can move in any direction--within and without it makes no difference as his joy and and maturity cannot be diminished by externals. He has come to a time of centeredness and expansiveness--the white glow around the figure is his protection and his light. All of life's experiences have brought him to this time of perfection. When you draw this card, know well this moment carries a gift--for hard work well done. Your base is solid now and success and good fortune are yours for they are the outcome of what has already been experienced within.

Believe in You

2009-08-26T16:38:00.001-07:00

Om Mani Padme Hum

Card for the Day ~ 78 card spread + 1

2009-08-24T14:11:00.001-07:00

Osho Zen Tarot

The wake that follows it. One moment you are the wave, another moment you are the hollow wake that follows. Enjoy both--don't get addicted to one. Don't say: I would always like to be on the peak. It is not possible. Simply see the fact: it is not possible. It has never happened and it will never happen. It is simply impossible--not in the nature of things. Then what to do? Enjoy the peak while it lasts and then enjoy the valley when it comes. What is wrong with the valley? What is wrong with being low? It is a relaxation. A peak is an excitement, and nobody can exist continuously in an excitement.

Osho Returning to the Source Chapter 4

Commentary:

This character is obviously "on top of the world" right now, and the whole world is celebrating his success with a ticker-tape parade! Because of your willingness to accept the recent challenges of life, you are now - or you soon will be - enjoying a wonderful ride on the tiger of success. Welcome it, enjoy it, and share your joy with others - and remember that all bright parades have a beginning and an end.

If you keep this in mind, and squeeze every drop of juice out of the happiness you are experiencing now, you will be able to take the future as it comes without regrets. But don't be tempted to try to hold on to this abundant moment, or coat it in plastic so that it lasts forever. The greatest wisdom to keep in mind with all the phenomena in the parade of your life, whether they be valleys or peaks, is that "this too will pass."

Celebrate, yes, and keep on riding the tiger.

Fireflies

2009-08-23T17:31:00.001-07:00

Tricky Insects~
Fireflies Use Aggressive Mimicry

Aggressive mimicry is a phenomenon where one organism (a mimic) tricks another organism (the dupe) into thinking it is another (the model), with the result being a negative outcome for the dupe, as well as the model. In the case of aggressive mimicry in fireflies, mated females that belong to a few species in the genus Photuris mimic the female responses of other fireflies in the same area in order to attract males of the mimicked species. When these males are tricked (or duped) into landing near these mimics to mate, they are pounced upon and eaten (Lloyd 1981)! Recent evidence also suggests that these female mimics are not only acquiring food but also defensive chemicals from their prey, which they themselves do not produce in large quantities (Eisner et al. 1997).

Tightwad Bank, Tightwad, MO

2009-08-23T15:12:00.001-07:00

Tightwad Bank, Tightwad, MO, originally uploaded by lophura.

This small town got its name from an incident in which a store owner cheated a postal worker by charging him an extra fifty cents for a better watermelon. Certainly they are much more hospitable these days, though it appears they all are still pretty tight with their money: none of the families counted in the 2006 census were living below the poverty line. And most of them keep their money in the Tightwad Bank.

Pema Chodron "Troublemakers"

2009-08-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

Unbound - Robbie Robertson (Tribute to Shakti)

2009-08-22T10:48:00.001-07:00

emerges flying
mesmerized into the flame
becoming stardust

Lightships in England

2009-08-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

Post your own videos with Viddler

Keyboard Cat: True Internet Story

2009-08-15T13:00:00.001-07:00

the doors Honolulu Convention Center , Honolulu , HI , April 18th , 1970

2009-08-13T16:43:00.001-07:00

Bingo, I remember this one like it was yesterday.

Our Caravan Bell

2009-08-11T08:42:00.001-07:00

Natures office., originally uploaded by twotom192004.

Do you hear what the violin says
about longing ? The same as the stick.
I was once a green branch in the wind.

We are all far from home.
Language is our caravan bell.

Do not stop anywhere.
The moment you are attracted to a place,
you grow bored with it.

Think of the big moves you have already made,
from a single cell to a human being.

Stay light-footed and keep moving.
Turkish, Arabic, Greek, any tongue
is a wind that was formerly water.

As a breeze carries the ocean inside it,
so within every sentence is,
Return to the source.

A moth does not avoid flame.
The king lives in the city.
Heart

~A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Bootleg Series Vol. 2 - 02 Eternal Circle

2009-08-10T10:53:00.001-07:00

I sang the song slowly
As she stood in the shadows
She stepped to the light
As my silver strings spun
She called with her eyes
To the tune I's a-playin'
But the song it was long
And I'd only begun

Through a bullet of light
Her face was reflectin'
The fast fading words
That rolled from my tongue
With a long-distance look
Her eyes was on fire
But the song it was long
And there was more to be sung.

My eyes danced a circle
Across her clear outline
With her head tilted sideways
She called me again
As the tune drifted out
She breathed hard through the echo
But the song it was long
And it was far to the end

I glanced at my guitar
And played it pretendin'
That of all the eyes out there
I could see none
As her thoughts pounded hard
Like the pierce of an arrow
But the song it was long
And it had to get done

As the tune finally folded
I laid down the guitar
Then looked for the girl
Who'd stayed for so long
But her shadow was missin'
For all of my searchin'
So I picked up my guitar
And began the next song

~Bob Dylan Eternal Circle

The Great Untying

2009-08-06T08:08:00.001-07:00

Sun, originally uploaded by Jussi V.

We search this world for the great untying
of what was wed in us at birth
and gets undone at dying.

We sleep beside a stream, thirsty.
Cursed and unlucky his whole life,
an old man finishes up in a niche
of a ruin, inches from the treasure.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

OH! Shit !!!

2009-08-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

Oh. . . (fill in the blank), originally uploaded by smgallery.

Try and be a sheet of paper with nothing on it.
Be a spot of ground where nothing is growing,
where something might be planted,
a seed, possibly, for the Absolute.
~Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Discourse 71

2009-07-31T08:56:00.001-07:00

DSC_0051, originally uploaded by Wolfiegoth.

The difference between birds on the wing, and
lovers of God, is that birds always fly in a certain
direction, while lovers of God fly on the wings of
their desire away from all directions.
Every horse has its stable, every beast its pen,
every bird its nest. And God knows best.
~Rumi

Based on the original translation by A. J. Arberry

night sky in your pocket.....

2009-07-28T19:16:00.001-07:00

night sky in your pocket....., originally uploaded by Shitao.

http://www.katsandogz.com/ongood.html

Fountain of Life

2009-07-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

•Fountain of Life• from Metaphysician on Vimeo.

Book Mark

2009-07-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

9 reasons why there wasn’t stress in the good old days | ZME Science

Powered by ScribeFire.

Pink - Crystal

2009-07-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't trade a thing for all i've learned.

Full Moon Gemini

2009-07-21T11:39:00.001-07:00

Niagara Falls at the edge of color, originally uploaded by Sound Advice.

The July 21st Full Moon and Solar Eclipse takes place in the last degree of Cancer, and also make aspects to Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron — and to Pluto. This will again represent a potent and very energized time as we move forward with our activities in service to the greater collective. At this time the Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron triple conjunction is even closer to exact, and since aspected by the eclipse energy of this powerful New Moon even more greatly emphasized. The symbolism of this configuration reflects on one hand a total and unquestioned reliance on Spirit, and on the other the fear of failing to meet our highest expectations for ourselves. A descent into doubt can manifest at this time, but there is the potential for major healing as well. This spiritual archetypal combination has provided a more optimistic backdrop to the difficulties represented by the Saturn and Pluto archetypes, also prominent in these summer skies. We must also keep in mind the pending Saturn — Pluto dynamic aspect, which last occurred in the fall of 2001. This challenging connection between these two powerhouse planets perfects just as Saturn enters Libra in late October, forming a square. Judging from the intensity of this combination our societal difficulties will magnify toward the end of the year, beginning in the fall. Equally, so too will magnify the potential for redemption if we can face them unflinchingly and head on. ~ Henry Seltzer

Gemini Horoscope (May 21 - June 20)
Mutable Air. Your ruling planet is Mercury.

You are going over a waterfall in the proverbial barrel, Gemini, but you will never hit bottom. This month is a time of great flux and a fair degree of stress but also one of great joy and beauty when you recognize the way things are going and pull your oars in that direction. Your finances and your values may well be in need of adjustment over the course of this month-long period. Surprises over the last ten days of the month require course corrections. Emotional insight comes slowly but the miracle is that it comes at all. The rewards are there for you when it does.

As the month begins, you are full of life, enjoying your interactions with others and taking a spiritual approach to life and love. You are transforming in the way that you view the material world, and in where you turn to find your most basic sense of self. The things in your life, even your personal possessions, do not matter to you nearly half as much as you might have previously supposed. This month represents an important segment of the arc of development that you are currently engaged in. You are taking in the events that have transpired lately and attempting to rearrange the puzzle pieces into some new kind of order. When your world changes and your perceptions along with it, you must go with the flow and allow fresh points of view to come in or else become mired in irrelevant artifacts of a prior time. These ruminations might come to a head at the time of the Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse, taking place on Tuesday, July 7th, in your sector of intimacy and personal evolution. This is a time when you are forming your own basis for security independent of the actions and the opinions of others, when you are feeling for the balance point between relationship and going it alone. You are very aware at this time of the impact on your life from others, and also the necessity for balance so that you do not lose yourself in the process. At the time of the Last Quarter Moon of Wednesday, July 15th, you are coming to some important conclusions. Your world view is changing these days in response to the conditions that you have encountered and the conclusions that you have drawn from them, and now this fact has become more than evident. There might be some bumps in the path of your progress as you make necessary adjustments. With the New Moon and Solar Eclipse of Tuesday evening, July 21st, you are getting into a new way of thinking about your world that takes all your past into account. At this time also you might be more prepared to take a novel stance on how you see things as compared to how your forbears did, to set off on a departure from traditional ways of thinking if that is what it takes to get yourself down the road.

Lake Superior Sunset 5/24/08

2009-07-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

Lake Superior Sunset 5/24/08, originally uploaded by siskokid.

Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy,
absentminded. Someone sober
will worry about things going badly.
Let the lover be.

From Essential Rumi
by Coleman Barks

Love for Certain Work

2009-07-19T08:32:00.001-07:00

sunset after the rain 1, originally uploaded by felixspencer2.

Traveling is as refreshing for some
as staying at home is for others.

Solitude in a mountain place
fills with companionship for this one,
and weariness for that one.

This person loves being in charge
of the workings of a community.

This other one loves the ways
heated iron can be shaped with a hammer.

Each has been given a strong desire
for certain work, a love for those motions,
and all motion is love.

The way sticks and pieces of dead grass and leaves
shift about in the wind
and with the directions of rain and puddle-water
on the ground, those motions
are all following the love
they have been given.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

The Fool

2009-07-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

A fool is one who goes on trusting; a fool is one who goes on trusting against all his experience. You deceive him, and he trusts you; and you deceive him again, and he trusts you; and you deceive him again, and he trusts you. Then you will say that he is a fool, he does not learn. His trust is tremendous; his trust is so pure that nobody can corrupt it.

Be a fool in the Taoist sense, in the Zen sense. Don´t try to create a wall of knowledge around you. Whatsoever experience comes to you, let it happen, and then go on dropping it. Go on cleaning your mind continuously; go on dying to the past so you remain in the present, herenow, as if just born, just a babe.

In the beginning it is going to be very difficult. The world will start taking advantage of you...let them. They are poor fellows. Even if you are cheated and deceived and robbed, let it happen, because that which is really yours cannot be robbed from you, that which is really yours nobody can steal from you.

And each time you don´t allow situations to corrupt you, that opportunity will become an integration inside. Your soul will become more crystallized.

Osho Dang Dang Doko Dang Chapter 2

Commentary:

Moment to moment, and with every step, the Fool leaves the past behind. He carries nothing more than his purity, innocence and trust, symbolized by the white rose in his hand. The pattern on his waistcoat contains the colors of all four elements of the tarot, indicating that he is in harmony with all that surrounds him. His intuition is functioning at its peak. At this moment the Fool has the support of the universe to make this jump into the unknown. Adventures await him in the river of life.

The card indicates that if you trust your intuition right now, your feeling of the 'rightness' of things, you cannot go wrong. Your actions may appear 'foolish' to others, or even to yourself, if you try to analyze them with the rational mind. But the 'zero' place occupied by the Fool is the numberless number where trust and innocence are the guides, not skepticism and past experience.

Source*

Stonehenge

2009-07-17T14:31:00.001-07:00

Stonehenge, originally uploaded by kscherer11.

"This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond."

(Masnavi V:3644-46, 3676-80, 3693-95)
"The Essential Rumi: Translations by Coleman Barks, with John Moyne, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson," 1995, p. 109.

Crop circle revelations, 7/7/09 prediction and prophecy

2009-07-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

Fierce Courtesy

The connection to the Friend
is secret and very fragile.

The image of the Friendship
is in how you love,

the grace and the delicacy,
the subtle talking together
in full prostration, outside of time.

When you are there,
remember the fierce courtesy
of the one with you.

~A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

The Essence of Ritual

2009-07-11T07:38:00.001-07:00

Eggistentialism XI, originally uploaded by bitzcelt.

Pray the prayer that is the essence
of every ritual. God, I have no hope.
I am torn to shreds. You are my first,
my last and only refuge.

Do not do daily prayers like a bird
pecking its head up and down.

Prayer is an egg.
Hatch out
the total helplessness inside.
Heart

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Jimi Hendrix - live - Sunday, June 1, 1969 - Waikiki Shell, Hawaii

2009-07-01T17:36:00.001-07:00

Jimi Hendrix - live - Sunday, June 1, 1969 - Waikiki Shell, Hawaii, originally uploaded by Belltown.

More treasure.
http://www.univibes.com/Jimi_Plays_Hawaii1969.html

Phalaenopsis 'Hawaian Darling'

2009-06-30T18:01:00.001-07:00

Phalaenopsis 'Hawaian Darling', originally uploaded by riesling_76.

The Bright Core of Failure

Sometimes you enter the heart.
Sometimes you are born from the soul.
Sometimes you weep a song of separation.
It is all the same glory.

You live in beautiful forms,
and you are the energy that breaks form.
All light, neither this nor that.

Human beings go places on foot.
Angels, with wings.

Even if they find nothing but ruins
and failure, you are the bright core of that.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Facing the illusion of duality

2009-06-30T09:51:00.001-07:00

Facing the illusion of duality, originally uploaded by A Dharma Bum.

Thievery Corporation: Meu destino

2009-06-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

Michael Jackson & Slash

2009-06-27T13:05:00.001-07:00

Michael Jackson & Slash, originally uploaded by J0 anna.

An Invisible Bee

Look how desire has changed in you,
how light and colorless it is,
with the world growing new marvels
because of you changing.

Your soul has become an invisible bee.
We don't see it working,
but there's the full honeycomb.

Your body's height, six feet or so,
but your soul rises through nine levels of sky.

A barrel corked with earth
and a raw wooden spile
keeps the oldest vineyard's wine inside.

When I see you,
it is not so much your physical form,
but the company of two riders,
your pure-fire devotion and your love
for the one who teaches you.

Then the sun and moon on foot behind those.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Communication & Contemporary Culture In Finland

2009-06-20T18:22:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Communication & Contemporary Culture In Finland

View more Microsoft Word documents from vilmaluo.

16. Thunderbolt

2009-06-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

Thunderbolt

What meditation does slowly, slowly, a good shout of the master, unexpectedly, in the situation where the disciple was asking some question, and the master jumps and shouts, or hits him, or throws him out of the door, or jumps over him....

These methods were never known. It was purely the very creative genius of Ma Tzu, and he made many people enlightened. Sometimes it looks so hilarious: he threw a man from the window, from a two-storey house, and the man had come to ask on what to meditate. And Ma Tzu not only threw him, he jumped after him, fell on him, sat on his chest, and he said, "Got it?!"

And the poor fellow said, "Yes" - because if you say "No," he may beat you or do something else! It is enough - his body is fractured, and Ma Tzu, sitting on his chest, says, "Got it?!" And in fact he got it, because it was so sudden, out of the blue - he could never have conceived it.

Osho Isan: No Footprints in the Blue Sky Chapter 4

Commentary:

The card shows a tower being burned, destroyed, blown apart. A man and a woman are leaping from it not because they want to, but because they have no choice. In the background is a transparent, meditating figure representing the witnessing consciousness.

You might be feeling pretty shaky right now, as if the earth is rocking beneath your feet. Your sense of security is being challenged, and the natural tendency is to try to hold on to whatever you can. But this inner earthquake is both necessary and tremendously important - if you allow it, you will emerge from the wreckage stronger and more available for new experiences.

After the fire, the earth is replenished; after the storm the air is clear. Try to watch the destruction with detachment, almost as if it were happening to somebody else. Say yes to the process by meeting it halfway.

Control

2009-06-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

22. The Master

The Master

Beyond mind, there is an awareness that is intrinsic, that is not given to you by the outside, and is not an idea -- and there is no experiment up to now that has found any center in the brain which corresponds to awareness. The whole work of meditation is to make you aware of all that is "mind" and disidentify yourself from it. That very separation is the greatest revolution that can happen to man.
Now you can do and act on only that which makes you more joyous, fulfills you, gives you contentment, makes your life a work of art, a beauty. But this is possible only if the master in you is awake. Right now the master is fast asleep. And the mind, the servant, is playing the role of master. And the servant is created by the outside world, it follows the outside world and its laws.
Once your awareness becomes a flame, it burns up the whole slavery that the mind has created. There is no blissfulness more precious than freedom, than being a master of your own destiny.

Osho From the False to the Truth Chapter 7

Commentary:

The Master in Zen is not a master over others, but a master of himself --and this self-mastery is reflected in his every gesture and his every word. He is not a teacher with a doctrine to impart, nor a supernatural messenger with a direct line to God, but simply one who has become a living example of the highest potential that lies within each and every human being. In the eyes of the Master, a disciple finds his own truth reflected. In the silence of the Master's presence, the disciple can fall more easily into the silence of his own being. The community of seekers that arises around a Master becomes an energy field that supports each unique individual in finding his or her own inner light. Once that light is found, the disciple comes to understand that the outer Master was just a catalyst, a device to provoke the awakening of the inner.

Osho Zen Tarot

Pink Floyd - Embryo

2009-06-16T16:47:00.001-07:00

All this love is all I am
A ball is all I am
I'm so new compared to you
And I am very small

Warm glow, womb gloom
Always need a little more room
Waiting here seems like years
Never seen the light of day

All around I hear strange sounds
Come gurgling in my ear
Red the light and dark the night
I feel my dawn is near

Warm glow, womb gloom
Always need a little more room
Whisper low, here I go
I will see the sunshine show

Don Henley - The Boys of Summer Acoustic and Live - Video Gower Sunset

2009-06-14T12:34:00.001-07:00

I'll think about this.

The Power Of One

2009-06-10T11:27:00.001-07:00

The nature of God is a circle of which the centre is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere ~ Empedocles

Bring me to life by Evanescence

2009-06-09T14:51:00.001-07:00

Dying

Leaden blankets weigh her down,
White hanks drape her leathery face.
Caught in the numbness of narrowing time,
Eyes blinded by gauze,
Robotic sighs echo into her coma.
Metallic hiss of breathing machine is the
Strange violence of modern compassion.

365 Tao (by Deng Ming-Dao) # 158

Angel

2009-06-08T13:43:00.001-07:00

God is so good to us.

Roger Waters - Hello (I Love You)

2009-06-08T08:01:00.001-07:00

Hello I love you
Is there anybody in there
Hello...

Trinity Roots - Little things

2009-06-05T14:19:00.001-07:00

Please please please check in mine eyes
For I and I have nothing to hide
As I wipe the slate clean, share this with you
Take on my own, the pain of your soul

It's the little things
It's the little things
It's the little things
It's the little things
That really matter

These fine fine lines, make for trying times
And trying times, make you strong
You take your strength, pass it around
Pass it around, and then move on

It's the little things
It's the little things
It's the little things
It's the little things
That really matter

It's the little things
they break you down
It's the little things
they break your life
It's the little things
they make you mad
It's the little things
That really matter

the Flower's Eye

2009-06-01T07:26:00.001-07:00

sunflower, originally uploaded by bartica.

Find me near the flower's eye
that takes in provocation
and begins to grow.

Love is a baby that struggles
and fights, stops nursing, then runs out
through the door, escaping as a fire
jumping to the next burn.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

Hanalei Kauai Bonfire

2009-05-30T18:47:00.001-07:00

Hanalei Kauai Bonfire, originally uploaded by PatrickSmithPhotography.

I'm here in my mind.

The Earth & the Heaven

2009-05-28T11:38:00.001-07:00

The Earth & the Heaven, originally uploaded by Catch the dream.

I saw Sorrow
holding a cup of pain.
I said, hey sorrow,
sorry to see you this way.
What's troubling you?
What's with the cup?
Sorrow said,
what else can I do?
All this Joy that you have brought to the world has killed my business completely.
~Rumi

Dandy

2009-05-27T20:23:00.001-07:00

Dandy, originally uploaded by D.P. Rubino.

The Seed Market

Can you find another market like this?
Where, with your one rose
you can buy hundreds of rose gardens?

Where,
for one seed
get a whole wilderness?

For one weak breath,
a divine wind?

You've been fearful
of being absorbed in the ground,
or drawn up by the air.

Now, your waterbead lets go
and drops into the ocean,
where it came from.

It no longer has the form it had,
but it's still water.
The essence is the same.

This giving up is not a repenting.
It's a deep honoring of yourself.

When the ocean comes to you
as a lover,
marry at once,
quickly,
for God's sake!

Don't postpone it!
Existence has no better gift.

No amount of searching will find this.

A perfect falcon,
for no reason
has landed on your shoulder,
and become yours.

~ The Essential Rumi, page 153. Translated by Coleman Barks.

61 laps around the Sun

2009-05-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

I do not want a plain box, I want a sarcophagus
With tigery stripes, and a face on it
Round as the moon, to stare up.
I want to be looking at them when they come
Picking among the dumb minerals, the roots.
I see them already-the pale, star-distance faces.
Now they are nothing, they are not even babies.
I imagine them without fathers or mothers, like the first gods.
They will wonder if I was important.

~Sylvia Plath, "Last Words"

Three of a kind.

2009-05-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Some Song or Something

Birdsong brings relief
to my longing.

I am just as ecstatic as they are,
but with nothing to say.

Please, universal soul, practice
some song, or something, through me.

Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks

CHOCOLATE LILY - Fritillaria affinis (Fritillaria lanceolata)

2009-05-19T09:57:00.001-07:00

CHOCOLATE LILY - Fritillaria affinis (Fritillaria lanceolata), originally uploaded by robin44b.

Chocolate Lily Jigsaw Puzzle - JigZone.com

Powered by ScribeFire.

Temple of my heart - (music : Medwyn Goodall )

2009-05-15T18:06:00.001-07:00

Buoyance

I saw you and became empty.
This emptiness, more beautiful than existence,
it obliterates existence, and yet when it comes,
existence thrives and creates more existence.

To praise is to praise
how one surrenders to the emptiness.

To praise the sun is to praise your own eyes.
Praise, the ocean. What we say, a little ship.

So the sea-journey goes on, and who knows where?
Just to be held by the ocean is the best luck
we could have. It is a total waking-up.

Why should we grieve that we have been sleeping ?
It does not matter how long we’ve been unconscious.
We are groggy, but let the guilt go.

Feel the motions of tenderness
around you, the bouyancy.

A Year With Rumi by Coleman Barks