Beauty

To look around at the natural world is to encounter a plenitude of gorgeousness. The clouds, trees, flowers, glittering waters, birds, chipmunks and other furry things are stunningly beautiful at no charge. This is a truly smashing time of year too. Late spring brings a wealth of delightful vibrancy and a promise of more to come. Beauty has a power of affirmation about it, it opens the heart and softens the breath and quiets the mind with awe. All these causes are deeply needed tonics for our fast moving, high pressure lifestyle. “Stop and smell the roses” is a great and wise dictum. Stop and watch the sunset too.

How can a place of such extraordinary gorgeousness not be Heaven? Left unchecked by the interventions of mankind the natural order produces stunning landscapes, breathtaking mountains, fascinating minute plants and creatures, stars that stop the mind’s chatter and on and on. We hurry about trying to improve it all, making things and arts to make it better and yet all we need do is stop and take it in as the gift of glory that this realm is. Even the harsh salt flats, bare deserts, deep inhospitable (to us) ocean exhibit stunning beauty.

As a spiritual practice, recognizing beauty may lead to devotion and become a profound and transformative step toward fully embracing unconditional love. It is at once a gentle and a viselike path for once the eyes open and the world bursts into full color of exquisiteness there is no going back. Beauty will forever grab your attention entice you into rapturous blankness, staring at a sunset, peering at a tiny insect or into the center of a flower. Beauty leads one to a state of wonder and reminds us daily and even many times a day that the magic of creation is far beyond our understanding.

Beauty is always surprising. I am forever awed by the exquisiteness of a rose; it’s fragrance, it’s color, it’ vigor. I have seen fully blooming roses on the streets of New York City in December.

My personal exploration of beauty this spring has been gardening in my own garden and watching the Battery Park gardens here at the tip of Manhattan grow into the first season. I think after 25 years of gardening I finally get my own garden from watching the Battery Conservancy for the last couple of years. Check them out they are truly gorgeous.

http://www.thebattery.org/gardens/

Community

I just, finally, managed to see Invictus which is one movie I really wanted to see. I think I have never been so moved by a film as much as I was by this film. I was on the way to Greece in a plane where the sound was terrible the screen a postage stamp and the distractions endless and in spite of all that Invictus drew me in like no other film.

Community – I am struck by how powerfully needful we are of this. What is it – Unity in Community? The word means – in unity. Millions of South Africans black and white coming together to celebrate a rugby team. A team playing as a cohesive group and coming together to perform in excellence. Is there any need as a human greater than this need to belong? Perhaps a greater need than food, water or even sex is our need to belong and to be a part of something greater than ourselves. There is where our truth lies, this is the essence of our truth, our core nature – we are one.

I delighted in “on the money” cheesy moments of the film where a young black boy sneaks into the hearts of the white taxi drivers just to listen to the world cup game. I revel and thrill to the powerful Maori war dance which is led by a white New Zealander and strikes terror into the opponent Spring Bok team. I loved the white Afrikaner presidential security guard teaching his disinterested black politico counterpart about rugby until together they rejoice in a remarkable Spring Bok – no – a remarkable South African win of the World Cup.

I hate to watch sports and I think it is a waste of time and yet here is a song to unity in community teamwork. Like another film of extraordinary compassion and grace, The Blind Side; Invictus touches our core humanity, it highlights how much we need each other regardless of race, creed, ideologies or location, we need to support, love and respect each other in order to shine and express our excellent individual self. These two films are harbingers of heaven, they are songs of unity that invite us to examine our supernature the essential self of us that is beyond individual but belongs to the greater whole of humanity.

I have always said if a child is playing with a knife don’t just snatch it away from them but substitute it with a very attractive toy – the knife will be forgotten in a flash. Nelson Mandela did that with rugby. By focussing the entire country, blacks and whites on the game he created a unity that could never come from any political maneuvers.

I think my favorite line in the film is “Soccer is a gentleman’s game played by houligans – Rugby is a houligan’s game played by gentlemen.” To me that says it all – there are no boundaries, no rules except those that we make for ourselves and then unthinkingly abide by. I yearn, ache for the unconditional family of man, for unity in community, for unyielding grace and fierce respect to each other. For the most part the family man functions with elegance and unity if it didn’t there could never be so many of us. But unfortunately many abberant conflicts suck all the oxygen out of our general harmony. Reframing the focus like Nelson Mandela did is a brilliant move, reminding us of this brilliance with Clint Eastwood’s film Invictus is another brilliant move. I watched four other films on my way to and from Greece, it’s a long flight, and the rest of them were insipid compared to the rich relevance of Invictus.

Invictus shows us that we can ‘play’ on opposite teams to test our prowess, push and jostle each other but then we go home as equals, as lovers of one game, residents in the same life that we share together as one in many forms. Today I am on top tomorrow you wear the crown, today I am white in another life black, what’s the difference? The energy of unity is extraordinary, we can do anything together. Together we transcend the stars. Not to drag anyone down, that is never my goal here, but look for a moment what happens with partisanship – division. Even the best organization, the most powerful group will fail when undermined by partisanship. We do ourselves disservice when we withhold full authorization to those we put in power by that we withhold our own power.

Unity is our essential nature. It is a societal norm that continues to inspire and draw people together. We form groups in national, cultural, spiritual, artistic, intellectual and generational tribes. We revel in those associations, identify ourselves by our tribe. But that is not all that we are, our transcendent energetic being includes all those and more. You are all and much more.

Full Disclosure

You may be noticing a very odd manifestation evidencing that Heaven is Here and that is the amazing amount of unsavory secrets coming out. Why now? And why with such venom? How is it that venomous behaviour could resonate with Heaven?

It’s very simple, the light is turning on. We are in the in between space of dawn and we all know it somewhere within our being. None of us is immune to the powerful light of consciousness beaming our way and about to rise in full clarity and so we prepare in the ways that we know. The deceptive games of Captains and Kings of industry, banking, politics, military, or public institutions flourished in the dark where secret deals and alliances could create a powerful stranglehold on wealth and energy. I am talking not about energy like gas, oil or nuclear here but about that sacred sovereign energy of a human life; the right to good work, abundant nourishment, joy in community, satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. This is the most painful theft and it has happened throughout our known history in blatant forms and in not so obvious ways. I am not here to ponder the misery many have been subjected to in countless centuries and cultures. So know the point is made and let’s move on to see how Heaven manifests in the dark.

The light comes on and there is a mad flurry to save the old power structure; to maintain controls as they were but it’s too late. We are watching it all in action. It seems everyday a politician is outed for graft or personal indiscretions, another government policy hotly debated for its worthiness. The divisions of points of view radically shifted to opposite sides and opinions locked in step within one dimensional talking points. This is all part of disclosure. It is time to see very clearly where we have been, what sort of reality we have built for ourselves. The light is on and that light is the internet, the media, twitter and cell phones, you-tube and the blogosphere. This is where secrets slide into view and where the real incentives for behaviors begin to show. The transparent media is a manifest form of the light of consciousness that we are being gifted with right now.

I am not here to hash out conspiracy theories or report new stories but simply to point out this growing phenomenon of uncertainty and collapse within the structures we thought we knew. Perhaps the clearest and most apparent so far was the global banking failure. Here is a construct developed over centuries and fully dependent on trust, without trust the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. The banking system is probably still not done with its reorganization. We have seen how radically out of balance with sustainable business practice modern banking became, and though we’ve been through a collapse the practices that caused that are not checked yet. The good news is that more Light is coming and with that comes growth and flourishing. New systems of sharing energy will appear, they are probably already set up and ready to fall into service the minute the behemoths that suck our attention get out of the way.

Full disclosure means not only do we see what is ugly and not wanted; that which we need to clear out and throw out but it means we find deep in our closets that which is treasured and refound. The most important things that we can find are our own balance and equanimity. It is time to see that our relationships with our community are rich and fulfilling in ways that a price cannot be estimated. The monetizing of everything from our moments to our handiwork to our piece of land even the parts of our body and our health will loosen its stranglehold and we can find ourselves breathing free air again. Keep your eyes open for those new systems of support that will come forth. Do what ever you can to support them.

It’s all in the VIBES!

You may have noticed that I have been speaking of Heaven as a state of being and you may also have noticed that I am emphasizing that it’s all about the attitude. Well, at this point I want to revise that ‘attitude’ and bring the calling to a higher frequency. When thinking of attitude changes we are looking at choice and judgment. For example if you see the glass half empty rather than half full there seems to be a choice there. There also seems to be an attitude of comparing, judging and of worthiness. Let’s just skip all that and jump straight to the mark. It’s about the energy.

When your energy frequencies are up you naturally see things with a brighter view, you see the wonder in the world. Simple things become awe inspiring like the fact that an apple or a banana is a perfect food packet miraculously designed in size, wrapping and deliciousness to satisfy your nourishment. Focusing on management of your energy is much simpler than wrangling with attitudes and emotions. When we slip into those low energy, self-destructive places basically the not-heaven states where everything looks bleak there are ways out but it can be very very hard. It is especially hard by our selves that’s why we have help. But help only comes when you ask for it, when you are ready. Then the infrastructure of the ages appears in front of you or, “The teacher appears”. What I mean by infrastructure is all those paths created and maintained to lift your energy frequencies and lighten and brighten your outlook in this blessed life which is in Heaven.

Let’s look at the paths, I am not referring to religions but maybe to the practices offered through religions and spiritualities. Personally if I feel down I can count on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s qawwali singing to lift my heart. It is instant and palpable. This is what chanting does. It circumvents the mind from its groove of downerness and elegantly slides in a new program that lifts the heart to wrap the mind within its natural joyfulness. Whirling does this, meditation does this, perhaps your art or your atheletics do this too. It doesn’t matter, all that matters is that you hold your state as sacred and that you diligently restore it whenever it begins to slide into the mundane and even below that. This is an extraordinary magical place of miracles and joy, it is Heaven and it is our birthright to know that. Not just know it with our head but to Know it with our being.

This is my personal mandate, to Know my most pure and highest self and I am so blessed to be gifted with understanding that shows the way. Last night I again met Robert Young at the META Center here in New York City. While Robert talked it was interesting and very important and yet what was really going on was a simple, profound transmission of energy. Robert explained how we can all change the energy and lift it up. He demonstrated lifting the energy in the room and depressing it.  He worked with each of us as individuals in the room and also with us as a group. There was none of the usual visualization exercises, chanting, meditation, invocations or other remarkable tools for shifting states but just simply a focus on awareness and intent which produces result. What it felt like to me was periods of  intense heat, so hot that my chair felt heated. It also felt like a buzzing in my heart, not palpitations or fluttering but a warm humming that felt good. There was a profound stillness that became apparent, a stillness that I have met before only in very deep meditation but here it was enveloping everything, supporting everything, nourishing everything. To me this is the stillness of the causal realm, the place from which all things come. It is the divine womb of creation which pours out anything and all things and yet remains un-depleted. In fact this place is so full that not only does it hold anything that is, was or ever will be but it holds all that will never be. In modern sports parlance it is the, ‘zone’.

Robert explained that we are consciosness and that our consciousness is not trapped inside our physical form; it flows around us and is in fact eternal. He demonstrated the energetic frequencies of our consciousness and how we can very simply lift them up. He emphasized the importance of lifting not only our frequencies but also the frequencies of others that we encounter. We can do this quite simply with a smile. If permission is granted we can welcome someone else’s frequencies to match ours and take them on a delicious ride of appreciation.

Robert reminded us that this energy of consciousness which flows within and without us is that which forms our world, I called it the causal realm earlier and that is it. My father always used to say, “You can’t get something from nothing”. Well, I have to say I disagree in a big way, everything comes from nothing. The universe comes from nothing, our bodies come from nothing. Our consciousness is what attracts the somethings of our lives and we are moving into a reality where that process will seem more and more miraculous. But think wouldn’t your cell phone look miraculous to your great-great grandmother.

Fireflies

I want you to notice that we live in an extraordinary mystical time; knowing comes forward in ever more magical ways intended to gently point us in the direction of truth. Take the unusual song, “Fireflies” by Adam Young of Owl City for example. The first time I heard that song I knew with my heart that it is replete with mystical lessons. It seems to be encoded in such a way that the mystical truth is imparted directly into the primordial knowing core of our essential spiritual memory. I hope that makes sense.

“Fireflies” is a delightfully compelling journey into the world of energy and light, often referred to as the spirit world. Somehow the song pricks your ears and hints at magical realms and experiences that we know in our hearts but have forgotten and long to feel again. I applaud song writer Adam Young for offering this shining marker on the road.

Who knows what Adam had in mind with his lyrics but I would like to take a stab at the esoteric bounty poured into and through this song:

The first line: “You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies Lit up the world as I fell asleep.” launches  us into the world of angels and fairies. Let’s clarify the nature of these beings – light, consciousness and energy. They are beings, conscious frequencies that vibrate faster than we do in our dense state of matter and yet we and the whole earth are quickly moving toward the frequencies of the fairies and the angels. Throughout time many people have been aware of these mysterious ones. Children, saints, those near to death or in crisis may know them intimately. Today, though, more and more of us interact with greater conscious awareness with these elemental beings that direct conscious energies from Source into this physical realm.

The best time to access these beings is in the windows of the world through those portals in time and space like between day and night at dusk and dawn. Or we can meet them in doorways and intersections that enter or exit spaces or states; such as where the path enters the forest or where the mind enters or exits a dream. Most remarkable for us right now is that we are in a vast portal which is known as ‘the shift of the ages’ or ‘the end times’. This is a doorway into a new reality where we can create a “reality” that we establish for eons to come. I put reality in quotes because there really is no such thing as reality. However, this predicted time is our opportunity to choose a light path or not for our future; free will rules. The angels and fairies willingly show us the way if we choose to see them.

Adam’s song goes on to say about the fireflies: ” ‘Cause they’d fill the open air And leave teardrops everywhere”. He speaks to palpable blessings that come with some  interactions with the blessed light beings. It is a phenomenon I have recently heard referred to as the dry rain and is one of the first gifts acquired on a spiritual opening. I remember within the first month when I began meditating I was sitting one day and suddenly if felt as though a light, delicious spring rain was showering through the top of my head. This rain is known in Vedic teachings as rasa, the nectar of meditation.  Adam goes on to say that he just stands and stares which is natural when awe overwhelms us. What comes with this moment of seeing the light of consciousness is the instant awareness that consciousness is throughout all things; it is oneness, blessings and joy. Which takes us into his next verse.

Here is a particularly mystical moment wrapped around concepts relating to time and space, “I’d like to make myself believe That planet Earth turns slowly”. This to me is one line containing a universe of wisdom unfathomable to the mind but easy access to the heart. It feels like a gentle invitation to believe and fall in step with the natural cycles. Continuing the verse the question of whether to stay awake or asleep comes up “cause everything is never as it seems”. Without truly understanding this verse we are nevertheless introduced to the mystical nature of our universe and the peculiar confusion of our true state. Are we awake or asleep? What is the nature of time and space? But somehow this simple invitation awakens the heart to align with the mystery.

Then once we are aligned amazing gifts come toward us; “a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs” and the opportunity to learn how to dance with the universe. The possibilities are boundless and brilliant.  The final concept that comes up is to “Leave my door open just a crack” a wise thought to hold on to when mystery begins to disappear in the calculating light of the reasonable mind.

Ocean Eyes, Owl CityWhat’s even better about this Owl City hit is that the music of this very special song beautifully lifts the concepts therein and launches them into the air of popular hits making these esoteric ideas available to all. A few weeks ago I went to a fundraiser with a Karaoke competition. The first song was this one sung by two lovely 10 year old girls who sang it flawlessly without any words on the screen. They were deeply connected to the song and rendered it with full hearts; all of us were inspired.

If you have not heard the song I really recommend it, the tune is delightful. Click: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fireflies/id322447609?i=322447713&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

Self Inquiry

The first step on the spiritual path is self inquiry. It is the dark night of the soul that is ironically embarked upon when the brilliant light of the Self shines inward. Suddenly all the places ignored where dust has gathered over millenia and lifetimes loom large and terrifying. Dragons of ancient judgements, expectations, fears, regrets and terrors lunge into our awareness and seem to drag us into the muck of despair and hopelessness. Where the heck did heaven go? But I assure you, heaven is here now.

In all things the divine resides, the divine resides in all things. Perfection.

“Om purna madah purna midam
Purnaat purnam udachyate
Purnasya purnam adaaya
Purnam eva vasishyate
Om shanti shanti shantih”

This is Perfect, That is Perfect.
Perfect becomes manifest;
Taking away Perfect from Perfect and Perfect remains.
Om peace peace peace

That from which we came to which we will return is beyond the appearance of good and evil. But if that is true then what mire of consciousness are we swimming in now where so much terror, fear, manipulation, deceit and control swamps our awareness? We are in the dark night of the soul of our community of man right now. Light of truth is washing through our frequency and zone of space and ruffling up the dross of our collective consciousness. Stuff that we have constructed together and tolerated for aeons is no longer appropriate. Darkness will no longer survive as the light of Truth/Love scrubs through every corner of our constructs; government, communication, financial, educational, communal and more. We will all see things come up that we would rather not see.

Right now I am reading the book, “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein where she diligently describes the rise of disaster capitalism and outlines atrocious war mongering and disaster mismanagements designed to sweep away social governments and make room for unfettered laissez faire capitalism. Why? I wonder, am I reading this? It makes me feel terrible and yet I feel it is essential to know. I feel like Naomi, blessings to her for suffering through uncovering this material, that I am witnessing the inner dysfunction of this awakening collective being – Humanity. Part of the self-inquiry process is to watch to see our anger flare up unprovoked and taste it without judgement or action. Until we can see deep into our dysfunctional interaction and unveil the misguided self-interest of the ego we will not be able to still the mind and enter the heart where heaven is.

Right now we need powerful collective, self-inquiry. I am not here to say what’s right or wrong, who is good or bad but merely to say look within and discern the flavor of your heart. What’s the resonance there with your heaven? Does this outer noise promote heaven or scare it away? Ironically inspite of the dismay and shock I experience reading that book I keep gravitating to it, I feel compelled to finish it. It is like a joyful duty of clearing out a claustrophobic closet filled with the scariest, dangerous stuff that I just have to get out of my house.

The blessing here is that the light is becoming so bright and veils of illusion are thinning so much that truth cannot be squelched or spun. Truth will come out. When truth comes out constructs that used to support illusions will collapse. We have seen this already within the financial system. We are seeing it with the startling failure of government’s solvency from Iceland to Greece, to New Jersey and California. The unsustainable profiteer capitalism responsible for this is explained in, “The Shock Doctrine”.

Interesting times are here. Shocking changes are happening right now and more will come. Equanity, poise and self-inquiry are called for in times of distress. We must remember that we are not these constructs that we identify with; nation, job, spouse, parent, child, teacher, leader. We are responsible light beings here to play together and if the constructs of our imaginings seem to fall apart like a sand castle in the tide then let’s come together and build another better, sustainable (for a time) sand castle that we all can share the joys of.

I want to invite you to check out a superb inner resource that I personally love; http://www.emergingearthangels.com/ Karen Bishop regularly writes about the energetic shifts that we go through as a planet. Karen provides grounding, insightful and useful information on the energetic frequencies of the moment allowing us to connect to what is going on and understand the deeper reasons for various physical and emotional states of the ascension process. I was inspired by her postings to look out into the world to see what evidences of these shifts are becoming physically apparent.

More on, “The Shock Doctrine” at: http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

Unconditional Love

Love is the fabric of the universe, it is the frequency of the universe and it is the flow of communication between beings. So much of love is discussed in popular culture, in songs and in entertainment but is that really love? We are not talking about romantic love here although that is a very small part of the love equation. Any part of the love pie can lead us to the true nature of love; romantic love, familial love, love of pets, love of tribe and especially love of self, as long as the ego is held in check. Unfortunately the ego can derail any of these paths of love with tragic consequences and it takes discipline to walk the knife’s edge toward enlightened understanding of the nature of love.

The closest that we can get to the concept of primordial love or of the kind of love that the Mother Creator has for her beings is unconditional love. Yet even that does not begin to express it fully. In the Vedic tradition we hear that our true nature is that of the unknowable divine, of Shiva, the one unmanifest God and we learn that that nature is Sat Chit Ananda – Being, Consciousness and Bliss. This is the kind of love we are talking about. It is a natural state of awareness, isness and acceptance. This is the state of Heaven, it is a state that is your natural birthright. It is a state that we all know, that we often chase after without really knowing how to get it.

Tiny hits of this bliss of heaven, our natural state can be tasted. We may feel it in a perfect piece of chocolate, the warmth of our loving interactions,  in profound gratitude or in meditation and yet the feeling is fleeting. We chase it in even more dangerous ways, through drugs, sex and dangerous forms of stimulation that can never provide that lasting connection. One of the most delicious paths to cultivating this understanding and ultimate immersion is through the ancient Indian Bhakti tradition which simply prescribes love; love through service, love through chanting, love through dancing and love through worship. It is an easy and a most delicious path.

I feel singularly blessed to have experienced the primordial nature of love as there was a time in my life when I would lie awake at night and feel blissful waves of the energy of the universe roll over and past me. I have felt breathed by the universe and like a rushing river flowed through me. These are experiences of the natural and perpetual movement of love that is a conscious force of creativity, that permeates all things and nourishes all that is created. Once the impetus of creation moves from the stillness of the emptiness, which is really the universal field of potentiality then it becomes that love; a kind of nourishment, glue, substrate and consciousness all at once out of which we become.

So there it is, perhaps, the easiest way to know heaven is to commit to love. Commit to love unconditionally, commit to “love the one you’re with”. Commit to love anyone you can – family, friends,  pets, enemies, co-workers and your self. If you don’t or can’t then focus really diligently on where you can love because where you focus is where seeds will grow. Commit to love in all circumstances. Seek out circumstances that foster love and while you are a fledgling unconditional lover avoid circumstances that circumvent your natural love. Be selfish with your cultivation of love. By this I mean selfishly cultivate love rather than fear or hate or jealousy or competition or any other state that chases your love away.  Your love is more important than any other state, be grateful for it. Be grateful to those that provide you the opportunity to explore and expand it. Love will save you, it will save the world, Love is the world.

I want to share something with you that I was working on for a while starting in 2006. One day I picked up a Bible and it occurred to me that the creation story could be retold from a different point of view. Imagine that instead of a vengeful, judgmental God the Creator is a Mother – a loving, generous Mother whose only hope is that her creation will succeed and flourish and know its own greatness within her. Here is the result of my first few verses. I hope that you enjoy them.

BIRTH

Chapter 1

  1. First and always there was The Immaculate Womb,And this principle includes both male and female; for That Immaculate Divine Creator truly includes all and all is made from That. The Immaculate is all that ever was, is or will be as well as all that might and may never be as well as the potential for all that is and is not.And Its nature was, is and will always be perfect Love.
  2. The Immaculate Divine Creator is eternal absolute bliss where no thing and all things rest together in vast potential.
  3. All is merged in bliss and at once knew and did not know its fullest nature.
  4. Then in one eternal moment She inhaled and an extraordinary light burst from no being into being.
  5. When She saw this light she was overwhelmed with perfect Love and She knew that this was good.
  6. In this way the Immaculate Mother and her beloved, now separated may see and know each other. And the Divine Mother marked the birth of the first dawn.
  7. With sudden knowing and seeing by this extraordinary light came her divine desire to create, so out of her Immaculate Womb came the first thought.
  8. And She determined to reflect the unknown bliss of her non-being within this new thought that her fullest love might be known.

Awaken

Heaven is made within and the only way to get there is to wake up.  Here is a beautiful opportunity to examine this concept and perhaps even to crack the window and smell the fragrance of awakening or better yet to open the door and dive into the pool of heaven. What time could be more auspicious than now?  In an innovative new documentary film, AWAKEN, by filmmaker Danisa Perry we comprehend our special place in time and our unique role in humanity’s path to enlightenment. Through AWAKEN we recognize our own brilliance at choosing to be born now at the dawn of 2012.
 
The film AWAKEN is a gift of wisdom and inspiration fraught with love to counter the doomsayers of the end times prophesied to come very soon, in fact coming the year after next, in 2012. Renowned visionary and futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard enthusiastically rallies us to see these times of strife and chaos as a destiny that is the most perfect opportunity. Mystic Master Shaman Bonnie Serratore welcomes us to slip into an open state of meditation where she introduces us to a place beyond fear. Toltec Master Rita Rivera Fox explains the true meaning of the Mayan end times and shares the answer to all of humanity’s ills. Tibetan Lama Tulku Tsori Rinpoche invites us to commit to the only change that is meaningful – enlightenment. Finally, William Linville propels us beyond the limitations of the mind where he reminds us of what is most important, to let go and be love.  The masterful wisdom of these teachers comes with a directness that welcomes us to wake up and relish this moment. The twinkling in their eyes hints at a magnificent mystery that is awaiting us to be welcomed and fully realized.
 
Danisa’s clean, compelling interview style affords an intense, intimate interaction with the master that allows us to connect in the deepest way possible. The rich, raw and real teaching is ours to digest while we view awesome flights through exquisite natural settings set to compelling world music. All in all the experience of this film is a delicious feast for the mind, heart and spirit likely to be repeated many times once viewed for the first time.
 
Come experience an intense mystical journey of awakening on the verge of 2012 at the world Premiere of AWAKEN the film, with a exclusive week-end workshop on awakening led by the film’s teachers to follow.
 
This groundbreaking and transformational film entitled AWAKEN documents the presence and wisdom of an array of teachers from diverse spiritual backgrounds on the significance of this crucial time of planetary shift and shares with us how the current global crisis is an impetus to awaken to oneness, as such revealing the true esoteric meaning of 2012.
 
             Awaken is a gift to the spiritual awakening through direct and immediate
             contact with awakeners.  A very special contribution to our conscious evolution.
                                     – Barbara Marx Hubbard
                     
                      A documentary by Danisa Perry
 
Space is limited so please sign up right away:
 
To pre-purchase tickets,
for more info and to view trailer go to:
1-888-902-GURU
 
 Location: The META Center New York
214 W. 29th Street,
16th floor New York, NY 10001
(between 7th and 8th Ave.) Tel. 212-736-0999
 
             Awaken is a spiritual experience that ignites that place deep
             within that has been yearning to be touched.                          – Patricia
 
You will discover:
•What the Toltec teachings are saying about 2012
•Techniques to advance your conscious awakening
•How to break free from fear and limitation
•An awakening to love and oneness…
 
Premiere Ticket $15
Premiere and Workshops $135
(special pricing available for individual workshops)
 
Premiere January 29th, 2010 (7pm-10pm)
Week-end workshop January 30th- 31st 2010 (10am-4pm)

A broken heart

These are the dark times or perhaps the challenging times of the famous Chinese proverb that says, “May you live in interesting times”. The challenge is to permit the heart to break, to be with those who suffer fully without drowning ourselves. I have been angsting over my next blog; this one, because what can one say about heaven being here when such terrible quakes happen as in Haiti and so many suffer and die? The last thing I intend for this blog is for it to be pollyannish; that is of use to no one. 

So where is heaven in all the disaster that we have just witnessed and  in that suffering that continues to unfold in further desperation? I think the first step toward finding it and recogizing heaven is here is to know that we are more than just our physical form, we are greater than that. Our isness is eternal; that primordial witness of our lives, loves, wars, disasters and deaths is omiscient and omnipresent. That core us is beyond the blink of an eye that is this life. That part of us knows this is heaven, that part of us orchestrates this heaven so that we may experience the sublime and the excruciating feelings of this life. Challenging times afford each of us the opportunity to know ourselves better. These events also allow us to know ourselves better as one humanity, as the organism of community that we are fast becoming in this rapidly globalizing village. I think of a woman I saw on TV two days ago who was trapped for 6 days in rubble. When a team of US firefighters finally pulled her out she broke into song. My heart sings with her as much as my heart breaks for the children sitting in the streets next to their injured or deceased parent. I pour my prayers and blessings on those who are suffering in Haiti and to those who are helping, thank you to them all for their part in this massive global heart opening event.

It is important to look at this event and see what is going on cosmically and globally. Our world is our reflection of our self. Our immediate personal world reflects our personal, individual suppositions about reality. Our world at large reflects the greater agreements we assume as a community of humans. We carry and sustain immense constructs of what we think our world should be. For example the banking system is a construct, it’s “reality” is only apparent because we all agree to function by it’s authority. National borders are a construct, as are governments, educational systems and of course religions. All these ‘structures’ have formed over thousands of years built on infrastructures of assumptions that were formed and agreed upon thousands of years ago. Assumptions like “God is a jealous god”, “my race is the smartest”, “women should stay in the home”, “my neighbor is my enemy”, “survival of the fittest” all impact with tremendous power the way we interact and live together. I think few would agree that these structures are perfect and true. Many people are left out in the cold, impoverished and unable to create a sustainable lifestyle and this is because of these constructs. I was infuriated to learn that when Haiti revolted after learning about the French revolution and won their freedom they were then subject to reparations for loss of French revenues garnered by the slave industry. It took Haiti 150 years to pay off this massive debt, I wonder why the slaves were unable to make a case for reparations for their slave labor and ill-treatment and instead garner 150 years of reparation payments from France. These are the kinds of constructs that are crumbling right now. We are entering a new time where subjugation of our fellows, theft of each others energy and lifeforce will not be permitted. How can we be in heaven when the comfort of one depends on the suffering of another? We are intimately intertwined as one humanity and each individual’s well being is mutually beneficial, even the ants have figured this out.

I remember vividly while watching on TV the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapse that I felt like everything I thought was real inside me was crumbling and disintegrating. I felt a palpable shattering of the subtle construction of my understanding of my world. In the days after 9/11 in New York City New Yorkers were so soft and sweet. People’s hearts were open. Strangers were chatting with each other. Residents set drinks outside and made cookies for passers by. An opera singer broke into a splendid song one morning in the subway and the entire subway car felt sacred. It didn’t take long though for hearts to harden and for the US to stampede into war. Five years later we witnessed the suffering of New Orleans, then the South Asian Tsunami, then the hurricane in Haiti and ten years later here we are again witnessing terrible suffering.

It is said that if a change in direction is needed God will tickle your nose with a feather, if you are really alert you will immediately pay attention and shift course. If that doesn’t work God will slap your hand with a newspaper, hopefully for most of us that will get our attention and we will make a correction, if that doesn’t work he’ll use a 2 by 4 across your temple, it will probably hurt like hell but who’s going to ignore that. In your dazed recovery ideally you will change your misbehaviour. But if, however, even the 2 by 4 fails to make the point then comes the mac truck barreling down toward you with full force. Even though we are blessed with free will while playing in this realm it is critical that we follow the path of grace chosen by our own souls. Does it sound like I might be blaming someone for the earthquake? I hope not, I am not. I am convinced though that a quantum shift in our relationships to each other and to our world will produce a dramatically different experience of our world for each of us.

Here is an opportunity to allow the heart to break, or at the very least to soften and open. This is perhaps our most important duty right now, holding of anger, fear, jealousy, judgment and other negative energies ripples out into our world in terribly destructive ways. It takes great skill and effort to hold a state that welcomes heaven but heaven will not be perceived unless that disciplined state is nurtured.

I would like to recommend a well-reknowned prescient teacher Tom Kenyon, who offers beautiful and useful information to support us through these difficult times. A most recent article entitled, “Haiti and the Chaotic Node” presents information on how to maintain a good state as we go through these trying times. http://tomkenyon.com/haiti-and-the-chaotic-node

We are in this together.

The best thing about heaven is that we get to play together. We get to learn from each other, we create, share, celebrate and move into a deeper understanding of our true nature together.

In the Buddhist tradition it is recommended that you meditate on a flower or a flame. Any object of the natural world will reveal the wonder of reality. Buddhist’s know that  it is critical to understand our true nature because not one single being will be freed to full enlightenment while another remains bound. We are inextricably bonded in our heaven.

We have all heard that saying, “When the student is ready the teacher will appear”. The big question is, will we recognize that teacher? I’ve heard a great story about the man who was coming home to his village and the villagers were dashing madly toward him. “What’s up?” He asked. “There’s a mad elephant loose. RUN, or he will kill you.” Now the man was just coming home from a very profound spiritual retreat and he thought, “no, I’m safe, God will protect me by letting me know if there is danger to me here”. So he continued walking. Another and another villager waved him off and one even tried to pull our man into joining the fleeing crowd but he was steadfast in his determination to trust that God would warn him. As the elephant rampaged toward him, knocked him down, and trampled him the man cried out, “God, why didn’t you warn me?” God said to him, “I did warn you, at least five of your fellow villagers told you to run, why didn’t you run?”

This is what I call spiritual infrastructure. Think about that village; once it was the woods, then some one beat a path, another built a bridge, a third established a police department. Soon there’s electricity, buses, supermarkets, schools and all number of conveniences that make life more civilized. We could do none of this by ourselves.

It may not be visible but the spiritual infrastructure that is comparable to bridges and roads, tunnels and mass transit exists; all we need to do is take advantage of it. Great world teachers of many millenia have mapped the inner roadways, bypasses, fields, forests and goldmines. The infrastructure is sound and as real as those things that make our daily life so convenient. After all, everything visible on the outside is representative of that which exists on the inner planes.

It seems that knowledge of the infinite, intimate understanding of our oneness is coming out of hiding. It is coming into our days, informing friendships, art, music and film. Even television is getting into the act with sneak peaks at great wisdom, but more on that in another post. Really I want to mention music right now. Music is one of the manifestations on this plane of reality that can most likely to impart the wisdom of our true nature, to connect us to the divine that we are. Chanting, tribal beats, low hums like the digeredoo or the esraj all create windows into higher planes of consciousness for us. I personally feel that is because we are first made of sound then of light then of matter. It says so in the Bible, and in other texts but I say so because I have felt it; this is the power of meditation or of chanting.  So today I want to introduce you to a fabulous new piece of music that is profound in it’s mystic beauty. Check out Haale’s new song and her first music video, an ode to life, the moon, fire, warmth…

(filmed by Casey Meade)