cry sweet freedom

The Buddha teaches us not to believe anything just because someone tells us that it is true.

One day I came to the realization that most of my life and our lives are totally governed by other people – for instance your parents tell you “ When you get your own place, you can do what you want, but while you are in my house…” you get the idea. When you are in school you are taught the ‘right way’ up through college where you don’t even learn how to balance a checkbook, or the basic means to managing your life. On the average job, you are a slave to your paycheck, where you get a bit of independence.

Have I ever had a genuine thought of my own that wasn’t generated or influenced by culture, my parents, etc?

Have you?

TAROT WORKSHOP CLASS MONDAY AUGUST 4TH

Would you like to unlock the mysteries of the Tarot? Expand your spiritual life?
Seek guidance in all areas of your life?

In this 3 hour workshop I will cover

The origins/history of Tarot
Working with the different decks
The world of the court cards
Understanding the 22 Major cards of the deck
Uncovering the Magical/Qabalistic roots of the cards
Pathworking/meditations
Supplementing your spiritual life with the Tarot
A comprehensive look at the different tarot spreads and
finding the one that works for you
How to read /understand your future using the deck
A free reading*

This free reading can happen anytime within 30 days of the class!

date: Monday August 3rd
Time: 7 – 10pm
Price: $100
Location: TBA

You can sign up and paypal me at lordpyro@gmail.com

Limited Seating Available

Mantra Discipline DAY 12 - The Mountain of No

For some reason I REALLY didn't want to do it this morning. There was something inside me that said " I don't want to do this mantra stuff at all this morning" I was tired and wanted to sleep. But it was deeper than a tiredness. It was pure irrational stubbornness. I did it anyway. I felt good afterwards. I wish I could say that it felt ridiculsouly better afterwards, but I didn't. I am glad that I did it anyway because I have to push foreward to finish the discipline and get the results.

Thomas Ashley -Farrand, the guy who wrote the book said that your ego or the karma that is lodged within you will try to resist so that you won't continue so I expected it but I didnt think it would be so strong. It was like a big mountain of no!

Mantra discipline

I have been doing a new mantra practice that I have been trying to continue for forty
days. I knew from my biblical studies and my esoteric studies that 40 was the number of testing and judgment – it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, Christ was tempted of Satan for 40 days and apparently the Buddha was under the Bodhi tree for 40 days before he was enlightened.

The practice means that you have to do the mantra for 40 days without fail. If you miss a day you have to start the practice over. This is my second start. Although some of the books say you should start with one mantra, I have at least 12 that I am practicing with regularity. I love it as a spiritual practice

a) I like it because its something that I can practice all of the time (on the train, waiting in line, etc)
b) I am noticing some significant changes right away (a lot internal and external)
c) It helps me to redirect and sometimes quiet my mind

I have seen some major/minor miracles (including gaining $400 in one day), smoothness in every aspect of my life.

For example I have been doing some Lakshmi Mantras

Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha
Om Shrim Maha Lakshmiyei Swaha

I do one for the fulfillment of desires
Ha Sa Ka La E I La Hrim
Om Sarva Karmadaya Nahama

For Planetary Remedies
Om Shri Shaishwaraya Swaha
Om Angarakaya Namaha
Om Suryaya Namaha

For Spiritual guidance
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Namo Narayanaya

Urban Mystic Tarot at the Evolver Illuminations Party Sat 7/12

Have you ever wanted to know about what a Tarot Card reader sees or thinks about when he or she gives you a reading? This Saturday at the Evolver party, I will be giving a Tarot Workshop, in which I will be giving insight into what a tarot card reader sees when he or she does a reading for you! I will be using the Thoth deck.

EVOLVER: ILLUMINATIONS

Reality Sandwich invites you to join in its radiant one-year anniversary party. To celebrate this luminous night, we're bringing together the glorious dreamers, ecstatic revelers, and visionary artists who make our fair city shine. Join us at the spacious Sandra Cameron Dance Center adorned in your brightest, most sparkling costumes and explore four rooms of exotic entertainment and enchanted activities.

DJ Room: Unleash your body to the high-energy dirty bassline bliss of Jesse Mann; the uninhibited EthnoMesh of Bulgarian Bar resident DJ Joro Boro; the funkalicious soulful house of Been Jammin; and folktronica artist Zack Hagan.

Cabaret Room: Open your heart to sensuous singing, seductive storytelling, on-the-fly beat-boxing, and ribald puppetry. MCed by Sister Mary Manhattan and Martin Dockery with performances by Americana blues trio Shanimal; Nikki Borodi's Chakra Rock; Mahout Ensemble Jazz Illuminations; Puppetry Burlesque; Acoustical Foreplay by Glen Ashlee; David “I am Another Yourself” Bryson; the angelic voice of Shannon; with delectable cocktails at our bar by Winkel.

Activities Room: Engage your spirit in 3D and multimedia installations, interactive performance art, games and more. Featuring a video screening of the Cosmic Biofeedback of Eliott Edge’s and Dr. Strangelove’s “Positive Programming;” Psychedelic Video Game Remixes and Interactive Video Art by Dr. Domino, Kaliptus and Æres; The Conduit - Vibrational Sound Journey (with Guy Douglas and Owen Lozewski; luminous 3D art by Kahlil Calavas, Amy Zera and Jeramie Bellmay; “On the Spot Blasphemy” by Matthew Daniel, Mrs. Adrian Shirk and their army of mechanical typewriters; I Ching Divination; mind-centering Geometric Origami with Kamal Sunflower; Angels and Angles: Sacred Geometry with Basem Hassan; The Art of Sigil Magic with Mr. Domino; face painting and JAGUA Painted Tattoos with Kaliptus and Mr. Domino; tarot card readings by Æres. Bring your own art pad to share and use.

In the Dome: Chill your mind and open your soul with Tibetan Bowl & Didj Massages by Azarai; Tantric Puja and Active Meditation with Najakat Kavish; "Blindfolded True Confessions." Bring pillows if you like.

Workshop Room: Deepen your soul through mystical, whimsical, and playful workshops including a Shamanic Midnight Sun Ceremony with the NY Shamanic Circle; Argentine Tango with Sandra Cameron’s Amanda Luken; Jamye Waxman's "Sexy Toys for Sexy People;" Jonathan Phillips' "Sacred Warrior Workshop;" and Anthony Williams' "Urban Tarot."

The evening kicks off with a panel presentation, "Transformational Culture in the Digital Age" by Reality Sandwich’s Ken Jordan and Jonathan Phillips, then flows into a full-on night of fun and revelry. Winkel will be providing tasty food and beverages at the bar.

Saturday, July 12
Sandra Cameron Dance Center
199 Lafayette St (one block south of spring between Kenmare & Broome)
(9pm-5am, $20)
www.realitysandwich.com

FIGMENT CLIPS!

Two weeks ago on the historic Governors Island, I helped create an event called FIGMENT, which is a yearly event that celebrates participatory art and culture.
I set up the Urban Mystic Village which hosted some speakers such as Alan Steinfeld (creator of New Realities) Alex Gordon-Brander (builder of the 12,000 sq. ft. crystal temple - you can check out the website www.pantheogenesis.com) and performers such as the conscious hip hop crew Propaganda Anonymous
(here is the link - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=14839838). There were also reiki practitioners as well as a chakra balancing workshop.
I included a video that showed highlights of the event. The sections in the video where people were hooping and having a blast was in the Urban Mystic Village!

Ganesha and the Black Eyed Peas

The superstar producer Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas is
heavily influenced by Lord Ganesha, who is called the Lord of Hosts, the
Lord of Music, The One whose Body is the shape of OM. Sources say
their megahit album Elephunk was inspired by Ganesha, the
elephant headed deity. It was also said their album Monkey Business
was inspired by Lord Hanuman.

Will.I.am.will be collaborating with veejay/singer Sophia Choudhary
on a song on his next album. They will be recording a song in a fly ass studio in
Bahrain that is owned by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The Roots of Shamanism

Nat Bletter, one of the cutting edge ethnobotanists on the East Coast
gave an amazing discussion on Psychoactive plants, and their (pardon the pun) roots
in myth, shamanism and culture.

Although many diehard explorers would know of the information he discussed,
I found his talk enlightening, interesting and highly informational.

I found the fact that DMT (also penned The Spirit Molecule ) is located right behind the pineal gland which is the location of The Third Eye or the Ajna Chakra, the gateway to higher consciousness very interesting.

I was also fascinated by the pop culture images that we have adapted and how it relates to psychoactivity. For instance, the image of the witch on a broom, was a possible metaphor of witches placing these plants in their vaginal canal to increase its potency.

Can I get a Witness? - try this meditation!!!

I have a body, but I am not my body. I can see and feel my body and what can be seen and felt is not the true Seer. My body may be tired or excited, sick or healthy, heavy or light, but that has nothing to do with my inward I. I have a body, but I am not my body.

I have desires but I am not my desires. I can know my desires, and what can be known is not the true Knower. Desires come and go, floating through my awareness, but they do not affect my inward I. I have desires but I am not my desires.

I have emotions, but I am not my emotions. I can feel and sense my emotions, and what can be felt and sensed is not the true Feeler. Emotions pass through me, but they do not affect my inward I. I have emotions, but I am not my emotions.

I have thoughts, but I am not my thoughts. I can know and intuit my thoughts, and what can be known is not the true Knower. Thoughts come to me and thoughts leave me, but they do not affect my inward I. I have thoughts but I am not my thoughts.

This done – perhaps several times- one then affirms as concretely as possible: I am what remains, a pure center of awareness, an unmoved witness of all these thoughts, emotions, feelings and desires.

If you persist at such an exercise, the understanding contained in it will quicken and you might begin to notice fundamental changes in your sense of “self”

Wickerman 2008 Review

Last weekend I went to Wickerman, a burningman-esque event located on the edge of the Allegheny plateau in southernmost central Pennsylvania. It is not officially a Burning Man event but I am sure it will be soon enough. Although this the first time this event was held here, the group known as Four Quarters has been around for 14 years now. They are an interfaith church and are Neo Pagan in their orientation.

Ironically enough, and possibly different than a lot of my fellow burners, I was particularly attracted to the spiritual aspects of the community. I was yearning for spiritual renewal, relaxation and a different type of fun that I was used to in the city.

Everything worked together so well for me and my girlfriend to go that it seemed destined for us to be there – or at least it seemed like the right decision. Outside of a few travelling snafus, we experienced a weekend of abundance. A bunch of us set up our tents at night with the intention of moving them early the next day. However, after exploring the campsite, we realized that it was the place to be. After we set up our tents and the kitchen, it looked like we had our own theme camp! We ate, rested and treated ourselves and one another like kings and queens!

The campgrounds were clean, expansive and relatively bug free except for the occasional caterpillars. The weather was a bit colder than we expected. Although we were used to preparing for the cold due to our BM excursions, the mountain cold gave us a good chill in the wee hours of the night. Even though I wore almost everything I brought with me it still wasn’t enough! Thank goodness for the fire. As an aside, I must say that the bathrooms were extraordinary. The bathrooms were built on top of an open air platform which helped keep them clean. The water in the showers was warm and comfortable even up until the day we left.

Even though their burn continued the tradition of having fire spinners as a prelude to the event, the actual burn itself was a profound experience. In their efforts to create a full experience, the creators played some Star Wars – esque music during the Burn, which created laughs and sarcasm by some. However, I was impressed by their attempt to create meaningful symbolism. The music they played was from Gustav Holst’s The Planets Symphony which based its sections on the personalities of the planets in our solar system. They chose to play the theme based on Mars, the God of War, which astrologically speaking is a fire sign. Among other things, the element fire represents the creative will, the power of life and creativity. I found myself having a deeper appreciation of their efforts when I realized the extant in which they tried to create a truly symbolic event.

The main dance camp there The Party Liberation Front kicked some major ass as well as hosted some of the best fire spinning that I had ever seen. I also met some great new people as well as deepened my connection with some others. The size of the event made it amenable to really hanging deeply with people, which is something that I have been longing for.

Thank you Wickerman for restoring and renewing my faith in life, myself and my passions.

The Pope, The Hierophant and Earth Day

On the news I saw some guys cheer the Pope like he was Ozzy Osbourne. I never realized how popular the Pope was. Although I grew up Catholic and my mom is Catholic, they never mentioned to Pope at all. Or, at least I don't remember. I wonder how much the Pope has an influence on the daily lives of Catholics in NYC? True, his coming has made a major effect on traffic, but I wonder is his effect only limited to Fifth Avenue. Any catholics reading this feel free to comment.

On a spiritual perspective, the Hierophant, the fifth card in the Major Arcana was supposed to represent the pope in the early days of the tarot. In the Crowley Deck (which I use pretty exclusively to do readings) the zodiac association of the Heirophant is the earth sign Taurus. I bring this up because the Pope is coming to NYC during the weekend of Earth Day (which is a Taurean sign) where the zodiac moves from Aries to Taurus. HMMMMMMMMM!



POPE BENEDICT XVI ARRIVES IN NYC
Becomes Third Pontiff To Address United Nations In Speech Focusing On Preservation Of Human Rights
Will Visit Park East Synagogue Friday Evening
NEW YORK (CBS) ― Pope Benedict XVI arrived in New York City on Friday morning, receiving a hero's welcome on a red carpet at John F. Kennedy Airport. He was then quickly transported to the United Nations, where he delivered a speech to the General Assembly that strongly stressed the preservation of human rights across the globe.

At JFK, the pontiff emerged from "Shepherd One" at 9:40, waving to the overjoyed crowd, before being greeted by Edward Cardinal Egan and many other high clergy. Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg also welcomed the pope as he made his way down the red carpet.

Following the small ceremony at the airport, Benedict was flown by helicopter to the Wall Street Heliport, where he was taken by motorcade to the United Nations, arriving around 10:20. After meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and taking part in several photo shoots, he delivered his speech to an anxious audience, the fourth time a pope has addressed the U.N.

In his speech, the pope touched on a number of topics, especially the safeguarding of human rights and the development of weaker countries.

"I am thinking especially of those countries in Africa and other parts of the world which remain on the margins of authentic integral development, and are therefore at risk of experiencing only the negative effects of globalization," he said.

He pushed the importance of first-world nations aiding those third-world countries that are overpowered by poverty and struggling with development, warning that ignoring diplomacy would "do the real damage."

"Every state has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights, as well as from the consequences of humanitarian crises, whether natural or man-made," he said. "If states are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations Charter and in other international instruments."

The pope also turned his attention to the separation of church and science. He praised the expansion of technology, but cautioned against allowing science to dictate humanity.

"Notwithstanding the enormous benefits that humanity can gain, some instances of this represent a clear violation of the order of creation, to the point where not only is the sacred character of life contradicted, but the human person and the family are robbed of their natural identity," he said.

He added that finding a happy medium between religion and science was a question of "adopting a scientific method that is truly respectful of ethical imperatives."

Benedict's New York visit will also include a visit to a synagogue. History will be made when he steps inside Park East Synagogue – it will be the first time a pope visits a synagogue in the U.S.

The pope's last scheduled event Friday is a meeting with leaders from various Christian denominations at the Church of Saint Joseph in Yorkville.

For many New Yorkers though, the most important aspect of the pope's visit will be figuring out how to get around town.

"Friday is gonna be a good Friday for New Yorkers, but it's gonna be a terrible Friday for drivers," former NYC Transportation Commissioner San Schwartz said.

Before and after the pope's visit to the U.N., nearby streets will be frozen. First Avenue from 42nd St. to 48th St. will be closed until 3 p.m.

East 72nd Street. will be closed from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue until 11:30 pm Sunday. East 67th Street and East 68th Street will be closed between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue until 8pm, as well as 87th Street from First Avenue to York Avenue. Even ferry service on the East River is going to feel it:

"The East Side will be completely bolloxed up so we have to move the traffic over to the West Side," Schwartz said. "Therefore, don't even drive into Manhattan. Don't even think of driving into Manhattan."

Tibetan Freedom Torch Rally

Egypt sentences 5 men for homosexuality

I think its amazing that in a place known in the past for its advanced spirituality that such barbarism can and still regularly happens.

Egypt sentences 5 men for homosexuality By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 9, 4:37 PM ET

An Egyptian court convicted five men Wednesday on charges of homosexual behavior and sentenced them to three years in prison, officials said.

Defense lawyer, Adel Ramadan, said the judge found the men guilty of the "habitual practice of debauchery" — a term used in the Egyptian legal system to denote consensual homosexual acts.

The convictions were confirmed by a judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists.

Homosexuality is not explicitly referred to in Egypt's legal code, but a wide range of laws covering obscenity, prostitution and debauchery are applied to homosexuals in this conservative country.

The five men were arrested in what human rights groups describe as a crackdown on people with the AIDS virus, using the debauchery charges as a means to prosecute them.

Four of the five men tested HIV-positive after all were forced to undergo blood tests in custody, Human Rights Watch says. The New York-based rights group issued a statement Tuesday signed by more than 100 other organizations around the world condemning the prosecutions.

Ramadan, a lawyer with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the five men were abused and tortured over the past several months to "extract confessions" from them.

In addition to their prison time, the men were sentenced to an additional three years of police supervision, meaning they will have to spend every night at a police station, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., the lawyer said.

Ramadan said the four HIV-positive defendants were shocked by their convictions.

"Two of them cried, screamed and shrieked," he said. "The other two, they remained silent, but I saw anger in their eyes for the injustice they have been exposed to."

Ramadan said he appealed the verdict to Egypt's Court of Cassation, the country's highest appellate court.

Dozens of human rights groups have criticized this trial and other similar ones as being driven by ignorance and fear of AIDS. They have warned that the convictions could undermine AIDS prevention in Egypt.

The five convicted Wednesday were among 12 people arrested in a sweep that began in October, when police arrested a man during an altercation with another man on a Cairo street, Human Rights Watch said.

After one of the men said he was HIV-positive, authorities opened investigations into other men whose names or contact information were uncovered in interrogations of the first group of men, Human Rights Watch said.

Egyptian police have denied making any arrests because of a person's HIV condition.

In mid-January, four other HIV-positive men from the group of 12 were sentenced to one-year prison terms on similar charges of debauchery. Three others from the 12 were not prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said.

The Two Faces of the News

It's funny how people's perspectives influence situations. Usually birth's like this happen in America moreso than we like to admit. In our country we battle with the feeling that we are suffering because our children are born a certain way. Somehow, we believe that it reflects personally on us. However, in India they are treated like gods, goddesses and avatars. I don't mean to make a judgment if it sounds like one. I recognize it's easy for me to make an observation like this because I have no kids. I also must add quite honestly that I may feel the same way like other westerners will. Nevertheless, I still it is interesting to look at the different perspectives. I also wonder what it would be like if we looked at our kids and incarnations of deity even if they didn't have the outward manifestations of them.

This article is a few days old.

Two-Faced Baby Triggers Shock and Awe
Some Think Baby, Born With Two Faces, Is a Reincarnation of a God
By NICK SCHIFRIN
SAINI, India, April 1, 2008 —


Ask anyone along the dusty, pothole-filled road heading to the tiny village of Saini, and they'll know who she is. The one with four eyes. The one with two mouths. The one with two heads.

They are not ashamed of the extraordinary looking little girl, the villagers who live near her, the young parents, the overprotective local doctor. That's because while she may only be 2½ weeks old, she is far more famous than any resident of this part of the country has ever been. She is famous because she was born with a condition known as facial duplication. She has one body and two faces.

"At first I was a little bit afraid," Vinod Kumar Singh, the 24-year-old father of the girl who still does not have a name, told ABC News. "But then I accepted whatever God gives."

In this case, God has given what many in this rural part of India consider a reincarnation of Ganesh, the Hindu God who is half person and half elephant. At first, hundreds of locals came to Saini to touch the girl's feet, dance at her bedside and offer the family money, thinking she was as divine a person as they would ever see.

"People from corner to corner from all India and all abroad come here to take the knowledge about this child," said Harsharan Singh, the village math teacher. "It's a gift of God& Some people say she is like a goddess. They call the baby a face of a goddess."

Her two faces and the single dimple on their shared cheek are as placid as any baby's. She is the first child of a farming family, one of about 100 people living in a village 40 miles outside New Delhi. Here, the average income is less than $2 a day, and the locals either work the field or support those who work the field in any way they can.

During a recent visit by ABC News, villagers fanned the baby, swatting dozens of flies away so she could sleep. The village, like so many in India, is modest. There is no electricity, there are no toilets, and there is no technology.

The parents did not know that anything was wrong with their daughter until she was born. Tens of millions of pregnant women in rural India do not receive prenatal care.

"They're not aware enough that they should come in for treatment," said Dr. M. Ashmosd, the resident medical officer of nearby Saifi Hospital, where the girl was born.

Ashmosd was part of the team that delivered her vaginally. Still, he does not know the details of the baby's condition because the parents have not agreed to let the hospital perform a CT scan or an MRI on her head.

"I've told them we're ready to do the CT scan for free. But they have ignored me," he told ABC News.

Experts in the United States who have performed surgeries on children with similar conditions say they can't know what the baby's prognosis will be without scans.

"A brain MRI would be illuminating, to say the least. Without it we only can presume about what could be possible or what her quality of life would be with or without reconstructive surgery," Jorge Lazareff, the director of pediatric neurosurgery at UCLA Hospital in Los Angeles, told ABC News.

The parents and the villagers have turned inward. Visited by a dozen media outlets, they at first refused to allow an ABC News team to ask any questions or shoot any video, accusing reporters of "making stories for their own profit." Eventually, they relented, but the local doctor refused to allow the mother to speak and interrupted an interview with the father.

"She is very normal," Dr. Brigdal Nagar yelled, pointing at an ABC News reporter and shoving Vinod Singh aside. "We don't need the media here. She's not an abnormal baby. It's just that she has two faces. And she's living a very normal life. And if she dies in the future, it's as God wishes."

Villagers have tried to make her life as normal as they can. The visitors who welcomed the baby's birth are no longer coming around. She is surrounded by only her family and their friends.

But perhaps she is too protected. Because the parents won't agree to allow the hospital to perform a CT scan, there is no way to know exactly what she is suffering from, no way to know if her life is in danger.

In 2004, a Dominican baby was born with a second head that was attached only to the first head, not the rest of her body. That condition, in which the second head is the product of a conjoined twin that stops developing in the womb, is known as craniopagus parasiticus. Surgery to remove the parastic twin killed the baby.

In 2005, an Egyptian woman named Naglaa Mohamed gave birth to Manar, who had two heads but also the remnants of an unformed twin's torso attached to her abdomen. Her surgery was successful, and eventually she appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey" show.

But for the Indian baby, there is no way to tell whether she has two spinal columns, whether there are multiple internal organs, or whether she will survive until the CT scan is completed.

"She's normal right now," Dr. Brigdal said. "But in the future she might face problems."

Lazareff was slightly more optimistic, writing by e-mail that "I presume that there is no reason for her not [to] live a long life. Stress on presume."

As for the parents, they are a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. They are overwhelmed by the terrifying thought that they have to raise a child who is so visibly different.

"She's just a simple baby," Vinod Singh says, before admitting with a touch of sadness, "she's not well."

If she survives, despite the odds, she might match her reputation.

"If everything below the neck is fine, and she could keep her head up, then she could walk around and live," said Henry Kawamoto, a Los Angeles-based specialist in facial plastic surgery. "And if she did that, she really would be a goddess."

Free Tibet Now!!

What's the Difference between Simon Cowell and Myself?

I 've been watching American Idol lately and I did some research into Simon and I found out thathe made $33.5 million last year. I made a little less.
I was wondering what the difference was between him and me.
Admittedly there are several of hugely apparant differences, but the one thing that came to me was this:

He knows how to make money and I havent figured it out yet.

He seems to be brutally honest with himself and other people.

Although there are lots of knowledge about manifestation, abundance, and living the life of your dreams,I wonder if spending so much time with those things are a distraction from really figuring out how things work in the real world.

When I figured out about his level of honesty, I started thinking about how honest I really am aboutwhat I think and what I want. Do I fuck myself over because I am too nice inside when my instinctsmay lead me to be what I may initially perceive as harsh but may be lifegiving? In other words, amI killing myself with kindness?

WAITAMINUTE!! The Secret is NOT enough! What you REALLY need is (drumroll puleeze!)...

I've read the Secret, The Science of Getting Rich, and the Master Key System..and one of the teachers whowas on the Secret, has a website with lots of great articles...however he then later advertised 'what if the Secret may not work for you is because you have some really strong unconscious intentions that can be blocking you, in which case you need this subconscious audio cleaningDVD/CD etc. for $39.99!'

I really feel like this is a croc and it pisses me off!

a)In my opinion either the Secret works if you work itor it doesn't. I think at this point, he is just trying to sell stuff..if it doesn't work, then itisn't the Secret!

b) at the end of the day, what if the unconscious cleaning doesn't work,then what? what else do you need to do?

c) It almost seems like the unconscious is an onion - many layers with no end! Going this route can possibly keep you a perpetual student and not a master...

It bothers me also that I do feel really strongly about this. I am wondering why. Does it trigger something in me? Why should I care?

Finally Getting The Secret!!!

The Secret

I remember when the Secret first came out I didn’t think I needed to read it. Not because my life was that fantastic, but because I already read dozens of manifestation books on the market, including the ones mentioned in the book (“The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles and “The Master Key System” by Charles Haanel). I ended up reading the book and watching the DVD. I thought it was a good book. I found it to be enlightening albeit very basic. I think the reason why I looked down on it was because I was pretty good at manifesting what I wanted in my life – at least according to the people around me.

I fell into a dry spell and became depressed for awhile. I went back to read the Secret again and I saw it from a different perspective. Maybe I was in the right place, but I became aware of how much my feelings were making an impression on my reality. I really took the concept of the thinking substance really seriously and thought about how I am creating my reality with every impassioned thought and feeling. I also somehow realized how much I needed to trust in the Universe.

Since then, I have been trusting the Universe, being in the flow and shifting my awareness to what I want to create, thinking in terms of life, love, peace, etc. I became aware of the subtle internal ways I try to control things.

Read the Secret and pay attention to everything it says.

R.I.P. - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 1/12/? - 2/6/2008

The Maharishi was one among the foremost of the Indian Gurus who spread Indian spirituality in the West. He was the founder of 'Transcendental Meditation'. He was born in a Hindu family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. He was named Mahesh Prasad Varma and some others claim that His name was Mahesh Srivatsava. He was born on January 12.
However the exact year of His birth is not clear. He is said to be born in 1911, 1917 or 1918. He was born of a Hindu family that worshipped Lord Shiva. In 1939 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi came into the fold of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati who was the Shankaracharya (spiritual leader) of the Jyotir Math in the Himalayas.

In 1941 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi earned the privilege of becoming the secretary of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. His Guru conferred Him with the title of Bal Brahmacharya Mahesh. The privilege of being the secretary of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati did not get Him to the seat of Sahankaracharya after His Master shed His body in 1951 on account of being a non brahmin.

Maharshi is said to have moved to Uttarkashi, in the Himilayas in 1953 where His Master had lived with His Guru Swami Krishananda Saraswati previously.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi exposed His teachings to the world what he claimed it to be a traditional meditation technique from the Vedas. He named it as 'Transcendental Meditation'. He started a movement called the 'Spiritual Regeneration Movement' in Madras in 1957 on the concluding day of a celebration to commemorate the service of His teacher Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. His technique was widely appreciated by those who learnt it as a benefit for the world at large.

Maharishi then began His world tour in Rangoon, Burma and proceeded to teach Transcendental Meditation in Hawaii and California. In California the Olson's private home sheltered Maharishi from where He continued to teach. He moved across the world and spread His teachings.

The Maharishi also contributed His knowledge in the form of books. He translated and rendered commentary of the first six chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita, as well as audio-taped the 'The Science of Being and Art of Living' which was transcribed and published in 1963.

Programs
The 'Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Program' was then introduced for advance knowledge following the 'Transcendental Meditation Technique'. The Maharishi further introduced a lot of other programs like the 'Maharishi Ayurveda', Maharishi Jyotish' (Vedic Astrology), Maharishi Sthapatya Veda (Vedic architecture) and Maharishi Ghandarva Ved. He also formulated a program to alleviate poverty with the introduction of a new currency called the 'Raam Mudra'.

Followers
Apart from the huge ocean of followers, the practitioners of TM comprised a lot of celebrities as well. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, singer Mike Love who became a TM teacher, singer and song writer Donovan, comedian Andy Kaufman, magician Doug Henning, directors Clint Eastwood, David Lynch are some of them who practiced TM.

Having said to have begun a spiritual renaissance, let’s hail this Supreme Being that resolved most naturally in the self.

Astrology and Super Tuesday: Astrology for America

Most people are aware of astrology, even if it’s just taking a cursory look in the newspaper for their daily horoscopes. However, most people aren’t aware that astrology also deals with the events on a national and international level. The Huffington Post started doing some astrological reports on the current election as a goof. Here is an article on the Daily Kos that explains in depth where we are at on a planetary level and what the election means for us as a nation.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/1/885/50068/1003/447504

Everybody Plays it Sometime! - The Fool

When I was a child, I used to watch Bugs Bunny cartoons. Who am I kidding? I still love cartoons and if they were still broadcasting the early ones on television (not the modern updated ones) I would still watch them. On one of the episodes, they would have a homeless wanderer on the show. Although in today’s language he would be called a homeless person, back then he was called a hobo. A hobo had a specific look. He looked unclean and disheveled like any typical homeless person. The difference is that he was depicted carry a stick with a bag at the end that carried most of not all of his worldly possessions. The interesting thing is that the image of the hobo is very similar to the image of the Fool in most of the standard Tarot deck. There is a reason for that which I will explain later.

The fool is the beginning of the Tarot deck. Instead of starting out with the number one, the deck starts out with the number zero. There is a deeply mystical reason for it starting with zero, but simply put, the Fool card represents unlimited potential that hasn’t manifested yet The number zero means nothing right? What if you put two zeros after 10? You get a thousand! What if you put two more? You get the idea! On the card, the background is yellow and the sun is white! Believe it or not, the coloring was deliberate. The yellow represents the unlimited potential of the universe and the color white represents purity (even the single flower in his hand represents his romanticism with life). The color red represents passion and the creative force as evidenced by the colored spokes on the wheels of his coat.

He is the jester in those king and queen movies, or the joker in the regular playing card deck. As an aside, although the character of the Joker in the Batman is taken off of the joker in the playing deck, he is not an archetype of the fool, because the character is sociopath bent on destruction who uses the joker as a means to an end, which is torture and cruel death. If you remember, the jester was always juggling, acting silly or danced around entertaining. However, he was the one who always had wise observations that the king would pay attention to but most people would ignore. The fool represents the childlike state of wonder and faith. He is ready to jump off the cliff (i.e. a leap of faith) totally trusting in the universe to carry him. The fool is also a wanderer on a quest, seeking adventure with rules that are his own. That is why the archetype of the fool was manifested in our reality as the form of the hobo.

In the real world, festivals that encourage childlike play, self-expression (as well as costuming) and wonder such as Burning Man, the Oregon County State Fair are expressions of the Fool energy.

A while ago I got into a conversation with a friend of mine about which musicians would be represented as tarot cards. I don’t remember who said it, but we both agreed that Bob Dylan would be great for the Fool card. In his own words, what attracted Dylan to folk music was “The songs were filled with….more faith in the supernatural, more triumph, much deeper feelings” which is the realm of the fool in its childlike simplicity. His biggest songs started a new direction in modern songwriting which blended stream of consciousness influences - another fool influence. Of course the obvious ‘Blowing in the Wind’ – wind representing air, the element of the fool. One musician that we didn’t think of at the time but would perfectly fit the Fool card would be Flavor Flav of Public Enemy. Throughout his music career people wondered if he was a genius or a ‘fool’! His lyricism and his penchant for crazy outfits provided a comic relief to the serious message oriented point of view that was Public Enemy.

The danger of the fool is the potential of being reckless, or diving full on into a situation without any preparation – in otherwords, being ‘foolhardy’. There is a fine line between taking leaps of faith and diving off of a cliff! If you notice, there is a subtle wind on the card that the young guy is diving into. This implies being supported by the intangible forces of life. Even though he is jumping off of the cliff he has checked in within himself and into the situation and knows that he will be supported. In my life, I have taken risks and sometimes it worked out and sometimes I have fallen on my face and learned lessons. After checking in with my body, my mind and my heart I find that taking that leap is very important. On the other hand you don’t want to test the universe!

Next Stop: the Magician

Intro to the Tarot

I am sure that there are some people on this planet who know what the future holds, either by creation or by revelation. I am not one of them. However, there are many tools available to us to help discern the subtle movements of energy and causality. One of these tools is the Tarot deck.

There is a lot of exhaustive information on the internet about the history of the cards that explain it way more eloquently and thoroughly than I can so I won’t go into it here, except to say that nobody really knows how, where and why they came about! I am writing about my personal journey with the Tarot deck and offer my own interpretation of them. I do offer a more contemporary interpretation than most of the tarot interpretations I have seen, combining how they show up in our everyday lifestyle.

I have studied the Tarot for many years now. Although most books tell you to start off with the Rider Waite deck, I started off with the Thoth deck which was designed by Aleister Crowley and Freida Harris. Most people (even published authors) tell you to stay away from the deck because of the advanced, multilayered symbols within each card. They also stay away from it because of the reputation of Crowley but that is another story. Personally, I found these cards beautiful and not as scary as the Rider Waite deck which for some reason scared the hell out of me! Maybe it had to do with a childhood experience. I saw this movie called Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, which took place on a train. There was a man who was giving Tarot readings using the Rider Waite deck to tell gruesome stories that always ended with the Death card! I am sure this had some affect on me even to this day. However, I use the RW deck anyway just for a different perspective. To further my education, I became a member of the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) and used their version of the Tarot popularized by Paul Foster Case. He had the same tarot deck but in black and white - you were supposed to color them in so you can learn the symbolism. They recommended doing only one card a day, and being who I am, I thought “well why not two?” There is a valid reason for it - I found myself getting too tired and had a hard time focusing in.

In the mystical world, the four elements (fire, earth, air and water) play a huge role in almost any cosmology. Each of the cards are represented by one of the elements. Several of the cards are represented by the same element (for instance the Fool, and the Magician are both represented by air). In general, Air represents the intellect and communication. Fire represents the will, the life force and the creative energy. Earth represents the material plane. Water represents the intuition and the subconscious. The reason why these cards are matched up with different elements is so that we can have something tangible to relate to. They are also used in meditation and magic rituals.

There are 78 cards in the deck with 22 main cards called the Major Arcana, where “arcana” means “hidden”. Back in the day the messages of these cards where hidden to the average guy. Of course when anything is hidden, there is some rebel who decides to buck the system! They bucked the system by disguising a lot of the symbolism. Some of the images were really in the shape of letters, numbers, etc that only the initiate knew or cared about. Some people have interpreted to be the journey of man through life, as well as higher spiritual forces. In my experience, they represent images that have been consistent in the collective consciousness throughout mankind. That is why several of the images continue to manifest in this physical plane of reality whether we know the cards or not!

The tarot cards work on the level of the subconscious. You shuffle the deck, think about a question, shuffle the cards and see what the story is. Once you understand what the symbols mean, you can use your intuition to read the possible outcomes. The danger in readings is becoming too dependent on them and looking to them for specific answers. The cards are like the line in the Matrix where Morpheus says to Neo “I can only show you the door. It is you who must walk through!”

I find that the more connected you are to the cards and to your own journey, the more the cards speak to you. The more you practice and understand the symbology, the easier it is to interpret. Another way is to develop your own meditation practices. Although there are definite meditation practices using the deck, I also find that you can do your own meditative practices and will still be in sync, so to speak. You will find that when you are in sync you can shuffle the cards very well and still pull up the same cards (when that happens don’t be scared!) .

So here we go!!! I will probably revisit some things as they occur to me!

Next: The Fool

The Adversary part 2 - The Mythology Cafe Discussion

I don’t want to say I have a lot of adversaries in my life but I do have some. Sometimes I consider my boss an adversary. When I start a new program of manifestation - for instance, if I want more money in my life for instance, along with getting new money, I also get someone calling me about a bill. I remember when I was in Landmark Education, one of the things they usually teach is that the second you declare something the opposite of the very thing that you declare shows up in your life. In other words if you declare that you are a patient person, the thing that will most likely piss you off the most will show up to test you to see if you are a patient person.

Is that a law of the universe or is it an observation? More than likely it’s a bit of both. I am sure that people thousands of years ago saw this happen and instead of calling it a Universal Law, they called it the Adversary, or Satan, or Tiamat, etc.

At the same time, the concept of an adversary is not limited to affecting the lives of individuals. There are many historical examples of a collective adversary and were not an invisible entities. Malcolm X was told and preached that the white man is the Devil. It is a well documented that he since repented of that opinion. However, placing myself in his shoes, I can easily see how someone could come to that conclusion. Every evil thing from his father’s death to white supremacists, to his mom being put in a home, to the white women he ran scams with, to the collective racial consciousness during his time where at the hands of white people. Many dictators in the 20th century were considered incarnations of pure evil from Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Amin and to a certain extant Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden and Bush.

Admittedly, I don’t have a response to answers of a collective adversary. Are these machinations of a sinister spiritual influence or is this the height of an unexpressed collective shadow?

Ultimate evil notwithstanding, in my experience, I find that the purpose of an adversary is to drive you to be your best. Maybe it’s a question of indefinite articles - the difference between “An Adversary” or “The Adversary”. Ultimately it doesn’t seem to ever be an end to an adversary because there is no real end to the things we want to be, do and/or have. It is also a possibility that the adversary is not really a spiritual figure bent on our destruction, but is a manifestation of our shadow side.

I remember the classic episode of Star Trek called the Naked Time. In this episode, there was a problem with the transporter which caused animate organic objects to have there dark side split from them. In this case, the shadow side of James T. Kirk was separated from his body and manifested into his body double. The interesting thing about this episode was that his power of leadership was in his shadow side whereas his compassion was in his good side. Although being separated for too long a time would cause his physical death, the other problem was that he became an ineffective leader who couldn’t make decisions. The moral of the story is that we need to embrace our shadow side to become whole. In the same way, we need to embrace the potential the adversary is trying to create in our lives. I am not suggesting we form a circle and shout ‘Hail Satan, the Prince of Darkness!’ Nor am I suggesting that we start looking for obstacles in our path. Rather I am suggesting that we accept the fact that there is an adversary and allow its influence to create perseverance, patience and dedication.

The Adversary part 1 - The Mythology Cafe

Who is the adversary? Even more importantly, why is there an adversary? Although I went to the Mythology Group that meets the third Wednesday every month to talk about different myths, I found myself thinking more about the discussion long after everyone left the Le Figaro Café. The speaker named Cory started with a character named Nurgil in 3000 BC who originally was a solar deity who ruled the noonday sun in the Summer Equinox – the hottest day of the year. He became the god of deserts, chaos etc.

Whereas there is probably some type of ultimate evil entity, I find that the social development of the concept fascinating. Apparently, the reasons for the need of an adversary vary from culture to culture. Many of the polytheistic cultures say “well if we have a god of the light and order, we GOTTA have a god of darkness, a god of chaos, a god of storms, etc!” To complicate matters, the lord of the underworld was not necessarily evil i.e Osiris of the Egyptian pantheon. Some beings such as Set who I have heard is a type of Satan in our culture (Set – Satan… you get the picture), didn’t start out as evil, but since the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, the ambition followers of the Horus Cult didn’t want Horus to be ‘diluted’ so to speak, so they propagated the story of Set being evil and eventually it took hold. At some point Set was supposed to be the god of foreigners and such was considered evil because the powers that be at the time didn’t accept foreigners! With the advent of Zoroastrianism, came the development of duality, where there was one being who represented ultimate good (Ahura Mazda ) and one being which represented ultimate evil (Angra Mainyu). Judaism and Christianity was influenced by them in their dualistic philosophy of evil.

In the Old Testament, Satan was only mentioned once by name and was the one who accused Job before God as being faithful because He blessed Job, and so God took away everything form Job to test him. Cory explained that the philosophical argument of the need for Satan was necessary because without someone tempting you, there can be no proof of free will. How can you know if you have free will if you never have to choose anything? Or how can you know what good is if there was no evil? However this opens up a huge existential problem which has been debated way more effectively other places, which is, if God who knows everything and is a being of infinite love and compassion who knows you will choose evil and will ultimately send you to hell, then why did he create Hell in the first place or even allow you to be created in the first place since you didn’t choose to be born(I am talking about the Judeo-Christian belief system which doesn’t account for your soul choosing to incarnate on this plane of existence)?

One of the things that stood out to me was the being called Samael who is supposed to be the accuser, the adversary, the angel of Death in the Book of Enoch and in the Talmud. In the Bible/Old Testament he is supposed to be the one who Jacob wrestled with all night to get his blessing to be the chosen ones. He was also the angel who held Abraham’s hand back so as not to sacrifice his son. He was also supposed to be the one who impregnated Lilith and helped Lilith plan to overthrow the Most High. It’s not a big deal, but in Christianity, it was supposed to be God who wrestled with Jacob and not the Angel of Death, which implies that God is both good and evil which is a heretical concept in Christianity. Even in that interpretation there are several problems. For instance, why would one of the fathers of Judaism wrestle the accuser, the angel of Death for his birthright?

You may ‘So What? What is the big deal?’ The reason why this is important because there are millions of people who believe the Bible as the infallible Word of God, and are told the story of Jacob as a model of persistence, the importance of desiring spiritual things above everything else, and as a tool of wrestling in prayer to get what you want. Millions of people are saying to God in prayer “I won’t let you go till you bless me!” when in reality they are quoting someone who is talking to who would eventually become the Prince of Darkness. Its easier to accept it if I look at God as containing both good and evil, both being two sides of a very important coin, much like Shiva and Kali( or Shakti) who are important as gods of creation and destruction. However, Christianity not only presupposes and directly states that God is good all the time and that all evil is there because of mankind or because of Satan!

I am starting to wonder whether fundamental Christianity is really a function of social conditioning and to a certain extent spiritual and intellectual laziness. It sounds a bit extreme but to really get an accurate grasp(or as they say to pray with understanding, you need not only to read the New Testament, but the Book of Enoch, Thomas, some of the other lost gospels, and some of the Talmud and the Torah since Christianity was derived to an extant from Judaism. If you wanted to do some extra credit work, read some history, geography and some Joseph Campbell as well. Of course you don’t have to – going to your local church will suffice, but you may not know the whole truth. And even with all of that the real truth is suspect.

Book Recommendation: Ruling Your World

I have been into Tibetan Buddhism and spiritual practices lately. I find their point of view fascinating. Their style of writing is very simple and easily palatable. However the actual execution of their belief patterns, while working when you apply it, is very difficult.

Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies for Modern Living by Sakyong Mipham is a fantastic, well written book that is very challenging. One of the things that I enjoy about his writing style is how he would include small pop-culture references to let you know that he is in touch with the world and knows what is going on (of course I am open to the possibility that he has a great editor as well).

Mipham talks about lungta, which is translated into “windhorse” which is the ability to attract success, prosperity, health, etc. He teaches that the way to raise windhorse is to let go of the ‘what about me’ paradigm, and through several meditation practices allow you to be able to focus in selflessness. I have read in other books that the ancient Tibetans used to be one of the most brutal warriors on the face of the planet, and through practice have evolved into one of the most spiritual. Maybe that is the reason why their way of speaking is so spiritual and unusual.

He discusses several approaches that are symbolized by four animals – the tiger, the lion, the garuda and the dragon. Each of them symbolizes contentment, joy and discipline, expanding vision and selflessness. After checking out their website www.shambhala.org I find that this book is a small encapsulation of their beliefs, which makes sense because Mipham is the head of the organization.

Their view of karma in terms of positive thinking is very similar to the new wave of positivity a la The Secret, but with much deeper implications. One of my questions is about their point of view of death. They believe that in meditating on death it gives our lives deeper meaning. However, I wonder how that works within the collective consciousness of the west which says what you focus on increases. I remember I used to always be afraid to think about death because I thought it meant I was going to die. On the other hand if I told this concern to Mipham he would probably say “so what? you are right! You are going to die and it could be anytime now. You are right to think of it! In fact you should think of it more!

General Year in Review

Years ago, when martial arts movies used to come on channel 5 at 3pm on Saturdays, I saw this movie called Return to the 36 Chambers, where in a typical fashion a young man goes to Shaolin to learn the Martial Arts to avenge his family. However this man was definitely not ready to study so the monks refused to train him but put him to work cleaning and tending to the endless repairs of the gigantic temple that seemed to cover miles of land. While working he watched everyone training and imitated all of the moves that he saw in the temple. He would practice stances and elaborate moves while working on the roofs, and practice staff moves while kindling the fire for the ovens. After spending a long time there he decides to leave against the monk’s will, and in trying to get away he unwittingly goes through all of the chambers. He ended up mastering all of the difficulties of the chambers even though he didn’t know it and left the temple.

Although it may be a tenous connection, I tell this story because it seemed to be an accurate description of what the past year was like for me. I started out with high ambitions and glorious dreams of what I wanted to accomplish - what I was ready for, but I had no idea how much previous hurts, pains, inaccurate beliefs and plain old immaturity was holding me back. Amidst the backdrop of the endless parties, entertainments, costume changes, etc I found myself in the midst of the most difficult year of my life to date. From the beginning of the year with my close friend in a coma, family illnesses, to going through the rest of year taking on loads of responsibilities at work and in my personal life, I found myself going through lots of lessons where I had to rise to the occasion and forget about what I originally wanted and thought I needed. I didn’t learn the important things through a seminar, a book, a blog, a retreat, a series of meditations or a crazy sexual experience. The purging came through work, discipline, sacrifice and internal tears and discomfort. I had to purge a lot of past influences, concepts and actions that no longer served me. Rather, some of the things served me temporarily and kept my persona intact but it served the childish side of me – the side of me that didn’t trust life, the side that needed everything now because I thought I may not get what I really wanted, the cynical side that ‘knows everything’, the side of me that accepted what the mass collective consciousness says whether it was what my soul really wanted or not.

I learned how important it is to maintain personal integrity and trust for its own sake at a deeper level whether I feel like it or not. Feelings follow action, so even if I don’t necessarily feel like doing something, the more I do the right thing, the more I feel like doing the right thing. There is a payoff in working hard even amidst the social/collective consciousness background of many abundance teachers saying that you don’t have to work hard, all you have to do is say what you want to create, think positive and WHAMMO, instant happy life! I also learned that really giving of yourself beyond what is comfortable for you for the sake of others’ happiness fosters life giving to you whether it happens to be in that moment or not. It creates an atmosphere and environment of giving and being around people who are like that. When you approach life and all of your relationships with a “what about me?” looking after number one attitude , then you run into people who have that, and whoever is more skillful at getting what they want wins. Although I used to think that ‘everyone is responsible for themselves attitude’ is the common spiritual/enlightened attitude and its important in some ways to avoid manipulation and to respect personal boundaries, it can be dangerously close to being self-absorbed and acting in ways that have no honor, courage, responsibility, loyalty etc.

I don’t claim that everybody has to feel that way. These are my lessons and feelings, and my understanding of my destiny to date.

2007 was not a year I am disappointed to see leave. I am thankful for it because it was a year that I grew tremendously and healed a lot of fundamental wounds. Since I am looking forward to this year with more faith in life, and more love for myself, my partner, my friends and family, I know that ultimately it worked for my behalf. However, metaphorically speaking, I hope that this year I can learn what I need to learn sipping Coronas on a beach than hauling two barrels of water up a mile high flight of stairs!!