Only the hand that erases can write the true thing.
Meister Eckhart

For listening to the stories of others ... is a kind of water that breaks the fever of our isolation. If we listen closely enough, we are soothed into remembering our common name.

- Mark Nepo -

Gratitude is the sweet fragrance of an opening heart.
Aine Belton

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart

- Steve Jobs –

One word can be more precious than all the treasures on earth.

Hazrat Inayat Khan
The Bowl of Saki

Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.

- Michael Pollan -

The coin that pays for ecstasy is always stamped despair. One cannot love empathically until one wanders there.

Jane Krainin
Dictated right before she died of ALS

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.

- Kahlil Gibran –

May all find simplicity the joyous and practical guide.
Buddhist Text

What you appreciate -- appreciates.

- Lynne Twist -

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.
Dakota proverb

It is true that we are called to create a better world. But we are first of all called to a more immediate and exalted task: that of creating our own lives.

Thomas Merton
Love and Living, p. 159

We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.

- Dorothy Day -

Even if you have a lot of work to do, if you think of it as wonderful, and if you feel it as wonderful, it will transform into the energy of joy and fire, instead of becoming a burden.

Tulku Thondup Rinpoche
The Practice of Dzogchen

You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

- Martin Luther King, Jr. -

For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile.

Elie Wiesel

Beneficial Bacteria | Probiotic Research Newsletter
Date: 07/09/2012 Written by: Jon Barron © 1999-2012 The Baseline of Health Foundation

The Co-option of Probiotics Has Begun

Beneficial bacteria are in the news with new probiotic research now promoting their benefits. It appears the medical community has decided to "step in" and take over this core natural medicine concept and make it their own. And not surprisingly, not one article about these new studies makes mention of the fact that 90% of their conclusions about the benefits of probiotics has been known and incorporated into natural healing programs for many years. Probiotics are now being co-opted.

One of my pet peeves is how the mainstream medical community -- and thus the media -- trashes a particular alternative health concept for years until it finally "discovers" that same concept and claims it as their own. The examples are endless, but several certainly stand out.

• Diverticular disease
• Fiber
• Cigarette smoking as deadly
• Trans fatty acids
• High sugar intake
• Etc.
• Etc.
• Etc.

In each case, the concept, when promoted by the natural health community, was mocked and dismissed. As I've discussed before, diverticular disease (or bowel pockets as it was called by natural healers back in the day) was dismissed by mainstream medicine for over half a century before the medical community adopted it as their own -- with no mention at all, ever, that holistic healers had nailed it long ago and had been saving people's lives for many years by preventing and eliminating it. In fact, the standard line from the medical community during that half century of denial was, "We've been opening people up for years in surgeries and autopsies, and we've never seen any sign of this mythical disease." But it's hardly mythical anymore.

We now know that diverticular disease will afflict virtually everyone eating a first world diet…if they live long enough. As for cigarette smoking, while the alternative healers were screaming about its dangers for decades, the medical community was promoting its virtues for weight-loss and running "physician tested and approved" ads for cigarette companies in the Journal of the American Medical Association.1 And then there's trans fatty acids. Even as those of us in the alternative health community were identifying artificial trans fats as one of the single biggest contributors to heart disease and premature death, the medical community was promoting their virtues and advising their patients to switch from butter to high trans fat margarine -- for health reasons. Now of course, they are at the forefront of the "ban trans fatty acids" movement -- and once again, without any acknowledgement of the role the alternative health community played in bringing this issue to the fore.

But other than bruised ego, why is this such a big deal?

The problem is that the medical community gets to have their cake and eat it too -- and the rest of us pick up the health tab. For all the years the medical community derides a concept -- detoxing would be a current example -- they get to score clever media points with their mocking articles and poorly conceived studies. Unfortunately, millions of people are dissuaded from incorporating these life saving concepts into their lives. How many deaths was JAMA responsible for when they ran ads promoting cigarettes?

And then, years later when they co-opted the issue by adopting it as their own, without giving even a tip of the hat to natural healers who pioneered the trail, they "take it away" from the alternative community, and deny its validity to the people who discovered it. (As the old saying goes, "You can always tell the pioneers. They're the ones with the arrows in their backs.") This allows mainstream medicine to continually dismiss complementary medicine as placebo based, or unscientific. After all, it didn't work when they were mocking it. And it has nothing to do with alternative health when they take it over. It's a rigged game.

That said; let's take a look at the flurry of new probiotic studies that signal the first step in the co-option of beneficial bacteria.

Probiotics Are More Necessary than We Ever Thought

Within the human body, it is estimated that there are 10 times as many microbial cells as human cells, and the vast majority of them are actually beneficial and "support" our biological functions. These symbiotic microbial partners perform a number of metabolic reactions that are not encoded in (and therefore not handled by) the human genome but are nevertheless necessary for human health. Therefore, when we talk about the "human genome," if we want to truly understand what's happening, we should think of it as an amalgam of all our human genes and the trillions of microbes that share our bodies with us. For this reason, the National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has been performing metagenomic sequencing of microbe samples from a healthy human population to address questions such as whether there is a "core" microbiome at individual body sites and whether variation in the microbiome can be systematically studied.2 In June, they released some of their results. (Note: microbiome refers to the totality of all the microbes that live in and on us.)

Among observations that are old hat to the alternative health community, but "new" to the medical community are "revelations" such as:

• Healthy people share their bodies with more than 10,000 species of microbes -- living on our skin, in the mucous membrane of our noses and mouths, and most notably, throughout the length and breadth of our intestinal tracts. However, these trillions of microbial cells are so small that taken all together they make up only about 1 to 3 percent of our body mass.

• No one has all 10,000 species. Your specific mix depends on where you live, what you eat, and your exposure to antibiotics -- either therapeutically or in your food. However, only a few are unique in function, and they are present in all healthy people. The rest vary from person to person, but are redundant in benefits so that their presence is not necessarily required. Or to put it another way, a wide variety can do the same jobs.

• All told, their collective weight is upwards of six pounds in a person of 200 lbs.

• And they play a key role in keeping you healthy…and even alive.

Intestinal Microflora, Gut-Metabolic Cross talk and Human Microbiome Project Update

http://youtu.be/ky5cBM9j7NE

Developments surrounding our understanding of the intestine and it's associated microflora are contending to be the most exciting research topics of the 21st Century. This quick update reviews research pertaining toInteractions between the gut Microbiota and the intestinal mmune system as well as metabolic-intestinal cross talk.

A "big surprise" to the researchers was that harmful bacteria are present in and on almost everyone. Why it's a surprise, I don't know. The Centers for Disease Control has stated for several years now that 25 to 30 percent of humans are carriers for Staphylococcus aureus (the flesh eating bacteria), which has no impact on their health but can nevertheless infect others. In healthy people, harmful bacteria such as S. aureas are kept in check (unable to proliferate wildly).

As I just mentioned, the researchers seemed puzzled by this and wondered why the bad bacteria harmed some people and not others. What causes some people's bacterial population to turn unhealthy? But this is old news to people familiar with a holistic understanding of the human body.

I've explained for years that unhealthy bacteria (not to mention viruses and other pathogens such as Candida) are always present but kept in check both by the body's immune system and, more importantly, by "friendly" bacteria. In other words, in healthy people, there is bacterial balance. In unhealthy people there is not. Again, this is no surprise to those in the holistic community. In fact, we even have a name for a state of microbial imbalance. It's called dysbiosis.

"This is a whole new way of looking at human biology and human disease, and it's awe-inspiring," says Dr. Phillip Tarr of Washington University at St. Louis, one of the lead researchers.3 "These bacteria are not passengers. They are metabolically active. As a community, we now have to reckon with them like we have to reckon with the ecosystem in a forest or a body of water." And like environmental ecosystems, your microbial makeup varies widely by body part. Your skin could be like a rainforest, your intestines teeming with different species like an ocean.

In addition to all of the above, the microbiome project has discovered that all of these microbes provide a less obvious, but potentially far, far more important benefit than any we have yet discussed. In the human body, there are upwards of 30,000 genes. But the microbes in our microbiome add to that total exponentially -- about 8 million genes in total. And these genes replicating in the beneficial bacterial produce substances that perform critical functions in the health and development of their human hosts. For example, genes from gut bacteria aid in the digestion of certain proteins and fats. They also produce inflammation-fighting chemicals, and immune factors such as acidolin, acidophilin, and lactocidin, not to mention a number of B vitamins.

And even more amazing, the microbial populations of the microbiome are in constant "intelligent" flux to accommodate changing circumstances. For example, according to researchers in a report that appeared just last month in PLoS One, during pregnancy, the vaginal microbiome becomes less diverse and less abundant, with one particular type of bacteria dominating.4

"We anticipated that the vaginal microbiome would alter throughout pregnancy, but did not anticipate as significant and profound a difference between pregnant and non-pregnant women," said Dr. Kjersti Aagaard, one of the study's authors. Why does it change? Perhaps it's to give the fetus as healthy a passage as possible. Previous probiotic research has found differences in which first bacteria babies absorb, depending on whether they're born vaginally or by C-section, a possible explanation for why cesareans raise the risk for certain infections.

The bottom line is that our microbiome is far more diverse and far more important than scientists previously thought. Perhaps this will give doctors yet another reason to not prescribe antibiotics so indiscriminately. Given what we have just learned about the microbiome, antibiotics are far more damaging to your overall health than doctors previously imagined. Yes, they may kill offending bacteria, but they also kill an entire support network of trillions of life forms that coexist in and on your body, which are in fact part of it and essential to your health. Any doctor that prescribes a round of antibiotics for you and then at the very least doesn't subsequently prescribe supplemental probiotics to jump start the rebuilding process is woefully ignorant.

Without that jump start, you are begging for bacteria to rebuild asymmetrically, creating a state of dysbiosis that can result in years of compromised health. Also, for similar reasons -- not to mention the fact that like antibiotics, they promote the growth of super bacteria -- antibacterial soaps are not recommended. But you already knew that.

Even Beneficial Bacteria Can Be Harmful When in the Wrong Place

A study published in the April edition of PLoS ONE has found that the bacteria in our guts regulate the immune system as well as related autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.5 Specifically, they found that larger-than-normal populations of specific gut bacteria (usually considered beneficial) may actually trigger the development of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis in certain situations and possibly fuel disease progression in people genetically predisposed to this condition.

"A lot of people suspected that gut flora played a role in rheumatoid arthritis, but no one had been able to prove it because they couldn't say which came first -- the bacteria or the genes," said senior author Veena Taneja, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic immunologist. "Using genomic sequencing technologies, we have been able to show the gut microbiome may be used as a biomarker for predisposition."

Other diseases with suspected gut bacterial ties include type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

"The gut is the largest immune organ in the body," said co-author Bryan White, Ph.D., director of the University of Illinois' Microbiome Program in the Division of Biomedical Sciences and a member of the Institute for Genomic Biology. "Because it's presented with multiple insults daily through the introduction of new bacteria, food sources, and foreign antigens, the gut is continually teasing out what's good and bad."

The gut has several ways to do this, including the mucosal barrier that prevents organisms -- even commensal or "good" bacteria -- from crossing the lumen of the gut into the human body. However, when "good" bacteria breach this barrier, they can trigger autoimmune responses. Dr. White goes on to say that the body recognizes them as out of place, and in some way this triggers the body to attack itself.

"The next step for us is to show if bugs in the gut can be manipulated to change the course of disease," Dr. Taneja says.

As a side note (my observation, not the researchers), this study points a very interesting accusatory finger at aspirin in terms of rheumatoid arthritis. Yes, as a Cox-2 inhibitor, aspirin can be effective in reducing the pain and inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis; but as a Cox-1 inhibitor, it simultaneously compromises the mucosal lining of the intestinal tract (the reason it causes intestinal bleeding), and thus may facilitate the passage of the "beneficial" bacterial through the gut and into the body -- thus triggering an autoimmune response and the resultant rheumatoid arthritis.

An interesting epidemiological study awaits some researcher there, I should think.

Dairy Fats Contribute to Bacterial Changes that Lead to Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Meanwhile, new probiotic research published on June 13th in the journal Nature has linked dairy fats and bacteria in the gut with the onset of inflammatory diseases.6 The researchers found that diets high in certain dairy fats changed the way food was digested and encouraged the growth of harmful bacteria. They used genetically modified mice which were more likely to develop inflammatory bowel diseases. One in three developed colitis when fed either low-fat diets or meals high in polyunsaturated fats. This doubled to nearly two in three in those fed a diet high in saturated milk fats, which are used in many processed foods.

These saturated milk fats are hard for the body to digest, and it responds by pumping more bile into the gut. This changes the gut environment and leads to a change in the bacteria growing there, the researchers said. One bacterium in particular, Bilophila wadsworthia, was identified. It thrives in the extra bile produced to break down the fats.

It went from being incredibly rare to nearly 6% of all bacteria in the gut in the high-dairy-fat diet.

Commenting on this probiotic research, Dr Roy Sleator, from the Cork Institute of Technology, said: "Not only do the authors provide, what is in my opinion, the first credible explanation as to how Western diet contributes to the unusually high incidence in inflammatory bowel disease; they also suggest an effective means of dealing with such diseases, by simply reshaping the microbial balance of the gut." (Not consuming dairy fats in processed foods is another way to go, of course.)

We already know that a number of the proteins in dairy are highly allergenic. And now we learn that even the fats are problematic. I know there are some in the alternative health community who are strongly pro dairy. I am not. However, as I've repeatedly said, if you are going to consume dairy, you want it raw, organic, and grass fed.

Mutant Acidophilus May Reverse Colon Cancer

And once again in a study released last month -- in this case in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -- a team of researchers from the University of Florida published their findings concerning the development of a genetically-modified form of the acidophilus that greatly reduced abnormal gut inflammation and reversed colon cancer in mice. This special variant of the acidophilus bacteria halted abnormal inflammation, reduced precancerous growths, and reversed the progression of severe cancerous lesions in the large intestines of mice.7

In earlier studies, the probiotic research team had demonstrated that a genetically modified form of acidophilus can bring overactive immune responses back to normal.

They have now found that proteins on the surface of the specially modified bacteria can act on the immune system to either cause inflammation in the gut or tune it down.

In other words, it works as an immunomodulator. In their current study, the researchers removed an inflammation-causing gene from the bacterium, and the result was a new form of the beneficial bacteria that was even better at controlling disease-causing inflammation. Moreover, mice with severe cases of polyps and cancerous intestinal lesions that were fed the modified bacteria had a significantly reduced number of colon polyps compared with untreated mice, and showed no signs of active colon cancer or disease-causing inflammation.

According to principal investigator Mansour Mohamadzadeh, "We have demonstrated that our bacterial treatment can take on established colon cancer. "This is huge, because people don't come to you 10 years before they have colon cancer saying, ‘I may get colon cancer; can you treat me?' They come to you and say, ‘I have colon cancer.'"

The modified bacteria are easy and cost-effective to produce. As a treatment for humans, it is likely to be in the form of a pill like most probiotic supplements used today. Patients could receive the beneficial bacterial treatment in combination with surgery or other therapies.

For years, researchers have understood that uncontrolled inflammation in the large intestine can result in various diseases, including colon cancer and inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis. This new study focused on understanding how to curb immune system processes in the gut that lead to harmful inflammation. Resulting treatments could work not just for diseases of the digestive tract but also for other conditions such as diabetes and Sjögrens syndrome in which inflammation plays a major role. It also suggests that some of the hundreds of strains of probiotics currently found in the human gut (and available in supplemental form) might produce many of the same results already -- if they were present in sufficient quantities. For example, probiotic research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has for some time indicated that probiotics can relieve intestinal inflammation and that probiotic bacteria have anti-inflammatory qualities.8 Why wait for a magic pill? Strains known to be helpful in this regard include:

• Bifidobacteria
• L. acidophilus
• L. salivarius9
• L. rhamnosus10
• L. plantarum11
• S. thermophilus12

Conclusion

The microbes in our microbiome are not just helpful; they are essential. They allow us to digest food, to assimilate the nutrients in that food, and they play a huge role -- just beginning to be understood -- in our immune functioning and in many other processes in our bodies. And they protect our mucosal linings and skin from deadly pathogens such as flesh eating bacteria. Quite simply, we cannot live without a healthy microbiome. And yet, we are constantly attacking and destroying it.

• We bathe in and drink chlorinated water. Chlorine is antibacterial; it kills all of the bacteria -- good and bad -- in your microbiome.

• We use antibacterial soaps, which kill all of the beneficial bacteria on your skin along with the bad, thus leaving you defenseless against flesh eating bacteria.

• We eat meat and dairy products laced with antibiotics, which destroy our intestinal flora.

• Our doctors prescribe antibiotics for us like candy, which creates a state of dysbiosis in our intestinal tracts and breeds super bacteria that can attack us later.

• And we no longer eat fermented foods to replenish the damaged populations.

Why would we expect good health when we work so hard to destroy it? Over the next few years, armed with its new understanding, doctors and the media are now likely to begin rethinking this assault on health and start working with nature rather than against it. Unfortunately, they are also likely to shove the alternative health community aside on this issue and displace natural probiotic supplements with custom engineered, prescription based versions.

Here's hoping that, just maybe, the medical community might show a little class this time and offer an acknowledgement to all those in the alternative health community who pointed the way…but I wouldn't hold my breath.

• 1. HemOnc Today. "Cigarettes were once ‘physician' tested, approved." Healio. March 10, 2009 (Accessed 22 June 2012.) <http://www.healio.com/hematology-oncology/news/print/hematology-oncology/%7B241D62A7-FE6E-4C5B-9FED-A33CC6E4BD7C%7D/Cigarettes-were-once-physician-tested-approved>;

• 2. The Human Microbiome Project Consortium. "A framework for human microbiome research." Nature 486,215--221(14 June 2012) <http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7402/full/nature11209.html>;

• 3. Lauran Neergaard. "10,000 germ species live in and on healthy people. Associated Press. Jun 14. (Accessed 22 June 2012.) <http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_BODY_OF_GERMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-13-16-47-23>;

• 4. Aagaard K, Riehle K, Ma J, Segata N, Mistretta T-A, et al. (2012) "A Metagenomic Approach to Characterization of the Vaginal Microbiome Signature in Pregnancy." PLoS ONE 7(6): e36466. <http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0036466&representation=PDF>;

• 5. Gomez A, Luckey D, Yeoman CJ, Marietta EV, Berg Miller ME, et al. (2012) "Loss of Sex and Age Driven Differences in the Gut Microbiome Characterize Arthritis-Susceptible *0401 Mice but Not Arthritis-Resistant *0402 Mice." PLoS ONE 7(4): e36095. <http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0036095&representation=PDF>;

• 6. Suzanne Devkota, Yunwei Wang, Mark W. Musch, Vanessa Leone, Hannah Fehlner-Peach, et al. "Dietary-fat-induced taurocholic acid promotes pathobiont expansion and colitis in Il10-/- mice." Nature 13 June 2012. <http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11225.html>;

• 7. Khashayarsha Khazaie, Mojgan Zadeha, Mohammad W. Khan,Mansour Mohamadzadeha,et al. "Abating colon cancer polyposis by Lactobacillus acidophilus deficient in lipoteichoic acid." PNAS June 11, 2012. <http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/06/05/1207230109.full.pdf+html>;

• 8. Erika Isolauri, Yelda Sütas, Pasi Kankaanpää, et al. "Probiotics: Effects on Immunity." Am J Clin Nutr February 2001 vol. 73 no. 2 444s-450s. <http://www.ajcn.org/content/73/2/444s.full.pdf+html>;

• 9. Peran L, Camuesco D, Comalada M, Nieto A, et al. "Preventative effects of a probiotic, Lactobacillus salivarius ssp. salivarius, in the TNBS model of rat colitis." World J Gastroenterol 2005 September;11(33):5185-5192. <http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/11/5185.pdf>;

• 10. Lin PW, Myers LE, Ray L, Song SC, et al. "Lactobacillus rhamnosus blocks inflammatory signaling in vivo via reactive oxygen species generation." Free Radic Biol Med. 2009 Oct 15;47(8):1205-11. Epub 2009 Aug 3. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19660542>;

• 11. Puertollano E, Puertollano MA, Cruz-Chamorro L, et al. "Orally administered Lactobacillus plantarum reduces pro-inflammatory interleukin secretion in sera from Listeria monocytogenes infected mice." Br J Nutr. 2008 Apr;99(4):819-25. Epub 2007 Sep 26. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17894920>;

• 12. Tasuku Ogita, Megumi Nakashima, Hidetoshi Morita, et al. "Streptococcus thermophilus ST28 Ameliorates Colitis in Mice Partially by Suppression of Inflammatory Th17 Cells." Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 378417, 9 pagesdoi:10.1155/2011/378417. <http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/jbb/2011/378417.pdf>;

A Volcanic Eruption of Kindness in London
posted by JellyLegs on Sep 9, 2010

I run a hotel in London. During the problems with the now infamous ash cloud, I spent the morning listening to people calling in to a radio show on London's LBC radio station to tell their stories of woe....some had missed flights for holidays, some couldn't get home following the volcanic eruption.

The story that struck me the most was a call from a man named Peter who had just gotten married the previous weekend to Maz. They were due to leave for their honeymoon to the Dominican Republic but could not due to the ash cloud. When James O'Brien, the radio presenter, asked if he was upset, Peter said: "Not at all, I've married the loveliest girl in the world whom I adore so no I'm not unhappy at all". Both, the presenter and I were blown away by the beautiful answer.

A little later, after numerous cancellations due to people not being able to travel, I had an idea and called the LBC station. I spoke to the producer of the show and asked if she could contact Peter to offer him and his wife a room for the weekend at the hotel. She later called back to say Peter and Maz were delighted and would love to take up the offer,. The producer asked if I would like to formally offer them the room on the radio show, but I declined as did not want any publicity for it.

So, two days later, Peter and Maz arrived at the hotel and checked in. What is incredible is the sequence of events that followed after my initial offer.

The hotel is situated in Kensington, which is mainly a residential area and thus parking can be a bit of a problem. Peter had parked outside the hotel in the residents parking zone and had written a note explaining the situation about their honeymoon and staying at the hotel and left it on the dashboard of the car. Later that day he spotted a traffic warden reading the note and walking off! Kensington traffic wardens are notorious in their severity and ruthlessness. When Peter ran outside to see if parking there would be ok, the traffic warden said, "I don't know if another traffic warden will be as nice as me but I won't be giving you a ticket". Considering traffic wardens work on commission, and having had numerous run-ins with them myself, I was dumb struck.

Peter and Maz decided to celebrate and go out to Covent Garden for dinner. While eating, they were chatting to their waiter, who asked why they were in London. When Peter told him about their honeymoon, and then the hotel room gift and finally the traffic warden, the waiter was just as surprised with all the generosity they had received. When Peter came to pay the bill, all the waiter said was " Your dinner's on me!" and wished them all the very best!

I love how a simple phone call, led to a sequence of events that would touch so many. I was so pleased to have made a bad situation better for a young couple, but what I really love is how it snowballed into so much more.

http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=21818

A Volcanic Eruption of Kindness in London
posted by JellyLegs on Sep 9, 2010

I run a hotel in London. During the problems with the now infamous ash cloud, I spent the morning listening to people calling in to a radio show on London's LBC radio station to tell their stories of woe....some had missed flights for holidays, some couldn't get home following the volcanic eruption.

The story that struck me the most was a call from a man named Peter who had just gotten married the previous weekend to Maz. They were due to leave for their honeymoon to the Dominican Republic but could not due to the ash cloud. When James O'Brien, the radio presenter, asked if he was upset, Peter said: "Not at all, I've married the loveliest girl in the world whom I adore so no I'm not unhappy at all". Both, the presenter and I were blown away by the beautiful answer.

A little later, after numerous cancellations due to people not being able to travel, I had an idea and called the LBC station. I spoke to the producer of the show and asked if she could contact Peter to offer him and his wife a room for the weekend at the hotel. She later called back to say Peter and Maz were delighted and would love to take up the offer,. The producer asked if I would like to formally offer them the room on the radio show, but I declined as did not want any publicity for it.

So, two days later, Peter and Maz arrived at the hotel and checked in. What is incredible is the sequence of events that followed after my initial offer.

The hotel is situated in Kensington, which is mainly a residential area and thus parking can be a bit of a problem. Peter had parked outside the hotel in the residents parking zone and had written a note explaining the situation about their honeymoon and staying at the hotel and left it on the dashboard of the car. Later that day he spotted a traffic warden reading the note and walking off! Kensington traffic wardens are notorious in their severity and ruthlessness. When Peter ran outside to see if parking there would be ok, the traffic warden said, "I don't know if another traffic warden will be as nice as me but I won't be giving you a ticket". Considering traffic wardens work on commission, and having had numerous run-ins with them myself, I was dumb struck.

Peter and Maz decided to celebrate and go out to Covent Garden for dinner. While eating, they were chatting to their waiter, who asked why they were in London. When Peter told him about their honeymoon, and then the hotel room gift and finally the traffic warden, the waiter was just as surprised with all the generosity they had received. When Peter came to pay the bill, all the waiter said was " Your dinner's on me!" and wished them all the very best!

I love how a simple phone call, led to a sequence of events that would touch so many. I was so pleased to have made a bad situation better for a young couple, but what I really love is how it snowballed into so much more.

http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=21818

May I live this day compassionate of heart, clear in word, gracious in awareness, courageous in thought, generous in love. --John O'Donohue

Rediscovering the Lost Art of Blessing--by Karen Horneffer Ginter, Jun 25, 2012

 
In his book, “To Bless the Space Between Us,” John O’Donohue describes an experience he had when he was a young priest visiting a group of nuns. He was asked by one of the older women to offer her a blessing. After he finished, he knelt down in front of her, and similarly asked her for a blessing. She was completely taken aback by this because, apparently, no one had ever asked her for such a thing.

It’s odd to live in a world where some people, but not all people, feel worthy of offering blessings. To change this inequity, O’Donohue encourages all of us to rediscover our power to bless one another.

I’ve become enchanted with this invitation, regardless of whether we define a blessing as being a wish or a prayer, whether we conceive it as coming from us or through us, or whether we offer blessings though what we say, write, or think. In any of these forms, the act of blessing another contains several irresistible qualities.

First, blessings are empowering because they connect us to our capacity to offer good to the world through simple thoughts and actions. They also provide us with a constructive way to redirect our thoughts and emotions, which might otherwise get channeled into worry, frustration, or self-absorption. Our concern for our child can be held in a blessing: “May this situation work out for you.”

Our frustration at work can fuel a thought: “May this situation find harmony.”

When we find ourselves consumed with our own predicament, we can expand our thinking by offering blessings to others who might be involved in similar situations: “May we all find resolution and clarity.”

Such shifts in our awareness can help us to broaden our patterns of thinking so that we don’t get caught up in a tight web of repetitive and consuming thoughts.

When we find ourselves responding to numerous requests for money and time, it’s also helpful to have ways of initiating acts of generosity. When we don’t have time to do this by engaging in “random acts of kindness,” offering blessings gives us something we can do in no time at all—just by thinking a positive thought about someone else. Allowing our attention to move outside of ourselves can be a refreshing change when we feel overwhelmed by all that’s on our to-do list.

Thinking such thoughts is useful in times when we wish we could be helpful, but there’s nothing we can do. It helps to remind us that we can always, at least, offer a wish to the person or situation in need. We can also develop a habit of offering blessings to people we pass by or interact with, as a way of regularly turning our thoughts toward compassion. Our wish, on their behalf, can be quite simple: “May you find fulfillment in your work,” “May your travels be safe.” We can also write out such blessings to loved ones just as we might tuck a note inside of our child’s lunch box: “May you find unexpected joy today,” “May you always know how much I love you.”

It’s fun to be creative with our blessings by finding small objects—maybe a heart or a fall leaf—which symbolize our wish, or writing our words on something interesting, like a stone. We should also consider including ourselves in our blessings, possibly starting the day with a kind thought: “May I feel peaceful and happy today.”

The more we offer such blessings to ourselves and to others, the more contagious it becomes to water these seeds of kindness and generosity in our own mind and heart, and in the world around us.

Be The Change
Make a conscious effort to share your blessings today -- with some who are known and others who are unknown

Reality is permeated, indeed flooded, with divine creativity, nourishment, and care.

Marcus J. Borg

Conflict, Holiness, and Politics

It may be that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Wendell Berry
Collected Poems

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I want to bring what is good about the internet and relocate it from the ephemeral everywhere and nowhere plane and bring it closer.

- Ari Davalos -

The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility.

Charles Kettering

Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions.

Earl Gray Stevens

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes.

Etty Hillesum

The Power of Mother Nature

A fantastic video with symphonic music and scenes of unleashed powers of the elements – earth, water, fire, air – awe-inspiring. Have a look into the centre of a hurricane!
http://youtu.be/RWgg5-kUSho

Power of Mother Nature 1080p HD

Musics:
1. Immediate - Trailerhead - "Prelude to Paradise"
2. 2 Steps from Hell - Invincible - "Black Blade"
3. 2 Steps from Hell - Invincible - "Heart of Courage"

You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people. --Cornel West

The Power of a Grandmother's Heart--by Huffington Post, Original Story, Aug 29, 2012

Amid rampant gang violence in a Chicago South Side neighborhood, a grandmother has an open door policy.

Roseland resident Diane Latiker, 54, started a nonprofit community with 10 kids in her living room in 2003. The program, Kids Off The Block, has grown to become a successful mentoring site and haven for Chicago's youth, serving 300 kids last year, CNN reports.

Latiker, who has eight kids and 13 grandkids of her own, has been recognized as a CNN Hero. She talks about her work with the young people who count on Kids Off The Block:

"It doesn't matter where they come from, what they've done," Latiker said. "We've had six gangs in my living room at one time...But that was the safe place. And you know what? They respected that."

On any given day, 30 to 50 young people show up at the center for tutoring sessions with teachers and retired educators, job interview training and field trips to museums or the movies.

Last year, Latiker was able to move the program into a building next-door to her house -- but not before making her share of personal sacrifices. She sold the family television for program funds and gave away her dining room set to make room for a computer station.

Maurice Gilchrist, 15, tells CNN how grateful he is to Latiker.

"I was 12 when I got in a gang -- robbing people, stealing. Miss Diane, she just changed my life. I love her for that."

http://youtu.be/iOSnsE55tTM

Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.

Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the East, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity.

Narrated By:Sir David Attenborough

Natural World: Himalayas (BBC)
http://youtu.be/yp8FISlHRdA

Land of God & Goddess - Dev Bhoomi !!!

Discover the importance of Ma Ganga in this spellbinding journey to the Himalayas!

The epic journey to find the source of the Ganges . Reaching the temple of Gangotri - the place where Hindus believe that Ganges first appeared on Earth. Further on we will also trail Kedarnath, Valley of Flowers, Yamunotri and Badrinath.

Nanda Devi is India's second highest peak and shelters the Bhyander Valley, home to the remarkable Valley of Flowers. Covered in snow for the majority of the year, it is transformed when the snow melts during the short summer and the high meadows become carpeted in spectacular flowers of every colour. Fantastic cinematography from the epic series of Ganges.

GK Travel & Tours.

GANGES or GANGA - A COMPLETE Documentary: [MUST WATCH]
http://youtu.be/UM9aPy7H534

http://blog.good-will.ch/WordPress/2012/07/28/himalayas-and-ganga-2-videos/

Heavenletters #3850 Make a Friend, June 10, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3850 Make a Friend, June 10, 2011

God said:
If you came across people with leprosy frequently, you might say to yourself: “What have I done to attract this?” You might take it personally, hold yourself accountable, karma and so forth, or you might not hold yourself accountable at all but be mightily annoyed that people with leprosy seem to gravitate to you. You see it that you are being given a hard time.

So now, here’s the difference between you and the Great One who helped to heal. He said nor thought any of the above. His thought was: “What can I do to be of service?”

He wasn’t thinking of himself. That meant he didn’t wonder how he might have brought people with this illness to himself nor did he find fault with them for having a disease that made them outcasts in the common world they lived in, nor did he resent them for choosing to come to him. His immediate thought was to be of service to his Heavenly Father through the needs of those before him. He served, and yet he did not take others’ difficulties to himself.

I use the above by way of example.

Now, let Us say that you suffer ill-will too many times from others. Others seem to be offended by you, and a sure result might be that you offend them back. It is like you are innocent and yet you find yourself in the same pickle time after time. The incidents you may come across can be compared to the appearance of people with leprosy. Your common response might me: “How come there are so many people who take offense at me? They shouldn’t behave this way to me. It’s always like this. This isn’t right. What is the matter with these people?”

You may see that somehow the world mistreats you. You recriminate the others for their lack of consideration to you.

There are others who see themselves responsible for the recurrence of situations, and, yet, they are still as helpless as the ones who cannot come to grips with the idea that they somehow contribute to the drama repeated in their lives again and again. These children of Mine may hold themselves guilty of doing something wrong, even when they don’t know what, and even may be an innocent bystander.

In one scenario, one person takes no responsibility, and in the other scenario, one dwells in guilt about it. In both cases, attention goes on themselves.

Better to get away from these scenarios and ask yourself the questions now: “What do I do? How do I respond to this? How can I repair the experience for the benefit of all?”

Let Us say that someone accuses you of being rude to him or unkind in some way, and you see this as an assault on you. Your reaction is anger. You are going to have nothing to do with this person in the future. That did it. He or she wronged you, and that’s the end of your exchange with that person.

That’s the end of that person in your life. You’re finished.

And so you punish the other person, and, in the process, you punish yourself.

In kindness and generosity, you could say to the person who was offended and who, in the process, offended you: “I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I was unaware. I would never want to offend you. I will be more careful in the future. I never want this to happen again.” How would it hurt you to say this?

Or would you rather be the angry victim?

We are talking about your being a true friend, not a happenstance one.

If, for good reason or no reason, you have alienated someone, don’t alienate them further. Make peace.

Better to make a friend than a foe. Better for all. Better for the world.

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Heavenletters #3853 Cheer the World , June 13, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3853 Cheer the World , June 13, 2011

God said:

The importance of your staying positive cannot be overestimated. It is incumbent upon you to set the sites of the world. Your thoughts produce the world.

Let Us say, for the moment, that you are a manufacturer of bottle caps. As the manufacturer of bottle caps, you know better than to say negative things about bottle caps. You wouldn’t say they aren’t made right. You wouldn’t say that the bottle caps you manufacture are foolish. You wouldn’t say, “Bottle caps. Tut tut.”

And, yet, about the world, you say, “Tut tut.” About the world, you give dire prognoses. About the world, sometimes you throw up your hands. About the world, you may say, “There will always be wars.” You may say, “History repeats itself.” And by your very statements, thought mentally or said aloud, you try to establish that what you say is true. So, when history repeats itself, you can say, “There, I told you so. I could see it. I knew it. I predicted it.” “And I won,” your mind says vacuously.

From now on, please shed light on the world. The world is of Our making, beloveds. It is Our baby. If you do not speak well of Our baby, who is going to?

The world is your infant. How you nourish an infant makes a difference. The world depends upon how you think of it and what you say about it. The world will change according to how you think about it.

There is the age-old topic of nature or nurture. The world which I gave birth to in love also depends upon nurture. The world depends upon your nurture.

Is it not well-known that how you think and speak of a houseplant makes a difference to its growth?

If you want your houseplant to be blooming, you bless it. If you neglect or badmouth your plant, it will wither. You can’t possibly think that the world is less affected than a houseplant you picked up at the super market.

There are truly good things you can say about the world, and you must say them. Say them, or be quiet. Either cheer the world, or be mute, but it is much better to cheer the world.

Without the world, you wouldn’t even have it to find fault with! The world is not be your scapegoat. The world is your opportunity. You have an influence on the state of the world. You cannot fling the world aside for the sake of your own declarations.

The world is a living breathing entity. It is well-meaning. It has no choice but to reflect you. Give it something wonderful to reflect. Be the world’s best cheerleader. Lead the world on to victory.

Consider the world your army, and so you give it its direction. Of course, the world can be an armed solider ready for war. Of course, the world can also be the loving Mother Earth it was designed to be. It is your call. You call the shots. Your thumbs up or your thumbs down make all the difference in the world. You are the designator of the world. You are the propagator of the world. You are the farmer who tills it. And you are the children who pick the fruit from its trees. Upon all of you, the world depends. It takes its cues from you. You are the mother of the world. You are its orchestra leader.

You are its champion. You support the world. Find that which to admire. And so you bolster the world. There is much in the world to love right now. Love it.

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Heavenletters #3857 The Bank of Love , June 17, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3857 The Bank of Love , June 17, 2011

God said:

The only thing you need in your life is more love.

You have more love to give, only you don’t really understand this, understand what this means.

You cannot manufacture love, yet you can give it. You can give it to yourself. It would be good for you to love yourself more. Love your Being more. Love your personality as well, and yet know that personality is a fleeting thing, often associated with ego. Concerning your True Being, there is no ego involved. As you love Me, you love your True Being.

Your True Being isn’t concerned with image. Image is concern with ego. Yet if you can love other people’s personalities, why not love your own?

You can keep your personality in place, and yet you can behold it with love.

What a singular thing to be a True Being housed secretly in the human aspects of your given name.

What a parade. What a charade.

Getting back to love, how do you give more even when your heart feels parched? How do you feel more love? Remember it. Remember love. Come back to love. When you feel more love, you will naturally breathe out more love. Is there a greater joy than love? I cannot think of one.

And every day you have occasion for love. Your love does not have to be humongous love. It can be simple toned-down love. It can be awareness of love. What does it feel like to love?

The passageways of your heart are cleared. You send out love without a big to-do. It is an easy-going thing to give out more love.

It is not that you psych yourself up to love. It is that you focus more on love than you focus on the matters you have been focusing on. Worries, for example.

Look, when you want to have more money, it’s unwise to focus on lack of money. When you want to radiate more love, it’s unwise to focus on perceived lack of love. The only thing you truly have to give is love. Acts of love may or may not be backed by the Bank of Love. Acts of love have their merit. An active flowing heart of love merits more. When it comes to love, it doesn’t matter how you box it and wrap it. It matters the love itself.

Love is energy, beloveds. Your True Nature is love. The love I filled your heart with cannot be overlooked forever. Instead of knuckling down to love, just idly paddle love as you would a canoe. If you are making your life a movie of love, you will not make an epic movie of love. It will be a low-key movie. It might even be a silent movie.

Let love be known to you. You do not have to profess love. Be present in love. Sink into the cushions of love. Lean back, recline, know that you are love and that you have love to give. You do want to give love, don’t you?

Give love from your heart. Be telepathic with love. Let your love go everywhere. Let the love in your heart emanate from there. Let love be your password to life. Let love be the path you walk on. Go arm and arm with love. Rather than profess love, allow your God-given love to be. You are not shooting your love out. There is no need for a barrage of love. There is just need for love to flow as naturally as you breathe.

Love is good. You are love. You are good. Love is the epitome of your life. Be a hot-cross bun of love. Be a provider of love on the corner. People will find you there. You don’t need a big sign. Casual encounters with love will do. Easy does it.

Permanent Link: http://www.heavenletters.org/the-bank-of-love.html

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Heavenletters #3860 To What Are You Beholden?, June 20, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3860 To What Are You Beholden?, June 20, 2011

God said:

To what are you beholden? Not to obligation. Obligation and responsibility are not the same thing. Joy is your responsibility. Love is your responsibility. Obligation doesn’t seem to carry joy. Obligation is a favor or an exchange. Obligation may be a bartering situation. Obligation is a loosely-written contract.

Such contracts often have repercussions. Obligation isn’t generous. As a matter of fact, obligation stints. Obligation is a miser and does not come from the heart. Obligation is a weight. Duty and obligation are not generous words, and, when enacted, they are not giving acts. Duty and obligation can be considered skinflints.

Responsibility and heart ride together. Duty and obligation are more like grimaces or gritted teeth. May you be spared from those who would serve you from a sense of obligation. Free yourself and others from obligation.

Obligation comes from outside you. It is like a rule you’ve heard. Responsibility comes from inside you, and is, therefore, timely. Responsibility is your decision. It is not imposed upon you. You accept it.

A mother comforts her baby. That is the mother’s joy. And so she gives joy to her baby. The mother may not like being awakened at night, but she wants to nurse her baby more than she wants to sleep.

She is responsible for her baby, and it is a responsibility that, by nature, she accepts. The mother blesses the baby, and the baby blesses the mother. It is not a trade. It is the will of both mother and baby.

Obligation is heavy-handed. Obligation may incur resentment. Obligation is simply not appreciated in the way that responsibility is. Obligation hangs heavily on your shoulders. Responsibility strengthens your shoulders. It makes you stand taller, straighter. Responsibility is not drudgery. Responsibility is an offering to the altar of life. It is not a formality. Obligation is a leech. Responsibility is an honor.

You may be a prisoner of obligation. Obligation is like being in a chain gang. There are fetters around your ankles.

Responsibility has no handcuffs. Responsibility is a free choice you make. You are responsible to yourself. Taking on responsibility is a gift to yourself, and it bears gifts to others. Being responsible is something you want to take care of. It is only a committed heart that reinforces responsibility.

Responsibility is an embrace. Obligation is like a forced march.

There is a fine line between responsibility and obligation. Remember, you are responsible for yourself as well as to another. If you are to treat others as you treat yourself, make sure you treat yourself well. What you may do from a sense of obligation obligates another. When you feel obligated, you may well be obligating another, and then you start measuring and counting what you are owed. You may not want to do this, yet you do it. Give others their freedom, and keep your own freedom of choice intact.

When you obligate another, you deny them their freedom. You may become a dunning debt collector.

Even when you don’t say a word about it, you are moiling over debts due you in your mind. You are adding up figures.

Be not an obligator, nor obligated be. Either way, obligation is not wholesome.

Responsibility on the other hand is wholesome. Responsibility is a lightweight. Obligation is a heavyweight. Responsibility is an opportunity. Obligation is a ball and chain. A sense of obligation has been thrown at you. Responsibility, on the other hand, is like carrying a torch at the Olympics.

Responsibility is a winner who carries the torch and runs with it.

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Heavenletters #3865 All That You Have Been Given, June 25, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3865 All That You Have Been Given, June 25, 2011

God said:

Give the thoughtful little acts. They mean so much. Visit the lonely, the sick, the poor, and give them occasion to feel better. Sometimes all it takes is a little attention. I will call this survival of the fittest, you being the fittest, beloveds. Survive by giving to others that which is yours to give.

You will find many occasions to bless someone, and so you are blessed. You are blessed twofold. You are blessed by your ability to give, and you are blessing by the deed of giving. Maybe thrice-blessed, blessed again that someone gives you the opportunity to give.

Do not overlook the power of the little things. A word. A glance. A deed.

Remember to give what someone wants more than you want to give something else that you favor to give.

Company may or may not be a gift desired. Sweets may or may not be a gift desired. Give what the receiver desires. Think of what the receiver desires. It could even be a bowl of lemons.

There are occasions where your presumed needs take a back-burner. Not what you want, but what means most to another.

When you are grateful for your own life, express your gratitude in the avenues of others’ lives. This pleases Me very much. Any kindness you give to one of My children, you give to Me. I thank you for your generosity. I thank you for taking care of My children as if they were your own. Of course, that is the case. Every child is yours. Everyone is yours, and therefore everyone is for you to care for.

In your awareness, skip no one. Just as you might total bills, tote up those who value a thought from you and can use it.

Once you had a narrow awareness. Now it has widened. Your awareness widens with your vision.

Soon your vision will be all-encompassing. In passing, you will take care of everyone. You will see out of the corner of your eye. You will see even that which the eye cannot see.

You will look into My eyes, and see through them. You will see all. You will hear all. You will be All.
Responsibility is not worry. Responsibility is awareness. Your reach is long. Your step is long. Your giving does not even feel like giving. It is where you are. And so you carry out every responsibility to the world and to yourself. It is to yourself that every generous act is directed. You skip no one.

It is that your mind and heart encompass all. You are a soldier of mercy who carries everyone to the light. There is no battlefield. You succor everyone. You carry a sword of light that mutes all darkness out in the field. You are the ray of light that eager eyes look to. You light up hearts, and those hearts light up other hearts. You lead the Light Brigade.

In so doing, you put out fires. They are so easy to put out. They never should have been. They submit eagerly at your feet.

And, so, the whole world becomes at your service. You who serve the world are served. Not a day goes by that you are not served. This is true for everyone, only what you are served may not be as you desired. Give more, and desire more. Everything is for you to give, and everything is for you to receive.

As you widen your eyes, you will see all that you have been given. This makes it very easy for you to give, and give you will.

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Heavenletters #3867 The Dawn Has Come, June 27, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3867 The Dawn Has Come, June 27, 2011

God said:

Heigh ho, a day has begun. The dawn lifts up its eyes and glances into yours. All is well. Heigh ho, a day has begun.

The whole world wakes up to a new day. Even in the skylines of New York City, the dawn, heralded by the rosy sun, has made its appearance. The dawn and the skyline are blessed by the sun. All that shines under the sun is blessed. And all shines under the sun.

Yet the sun has no patent on light. As mighty as the sun is, you have light within you that shines as brightly or even brighter. I think We have to say brighter than the sun. The sun, as enlightened as the sun is, is like a stalwart delivery truck that follows a steady route. The sun has a schedule to follow. It is always prompt.

You, on the other hand, have no limits to your delivery. You have no schedule. Your light is simply meant to stay on. No turning it off. Night or day, you can shine your light, and your light reaches far.

Your light has long fingers, fingers longer than the rosy fingers of the dawn. Your fingers of light have no end. This is the nature of the light that shines from your heart, or your eyes, or your smile, or from the evidence of your life. Plane down a board, hold a child's hand, lift up your eyes, your light pierces the world. Light from you isn't illusory. It is momentous. It is soul-brightening. It is heart-polishing. It needs no batteries. It runs on light that sustains itself. It needs no batteries, no storage, no timer, no winding like a clock, no unwinding.

The light of the sun is solar. Your light is soul light shining out just the way the sun meets the day. You are full of soul. No one is soul-less. Who on Earth would cover up his light? And yet this has occurred. And yet this has even become commonplace, as if the world were no place for light, as if Earth should have its shades pulled, as if there were no sun, no stars, no reflection on lakes and splashes of light entering the windows and makes itself at home indoors.

If My light is momentous, then yours is the same. You have great light within you. Awareness of the light you are is beginning to dawn on you. Simultaneous are the dawning of awareness and the dawning of light. They are reciprocal in any case. They let in the fresh air. Open your heart wide.

Through the windows of your soul, your light will beam across the horizon and enter hearts and nourish hearts. Light will touch their hearts, and the lighted people will not even know where the light came from. They will just know that the light has come. Even from furrowed foreheads, light can come, and light can land, and all on Earth can be light. All can be like light never seen before, like light never quite dancing like this before, like light like a huge chorus line. The dancers' feet never touch the ground. Light travels at the speed of light. Light multiplies itself, and the world is drowned in love. The world swoons in love, and anything but love is knocked out.

This is heigh-ho, the dawn has come. It is not ho-hum. It is heigh-ho, and off We go. We charge across the Universe, light leaping high, light leaving love everywhere to a tune that you have hardly dared dream of and yet is yours to see with, that blinding light of your heart alighted on love and nothing but love.

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Heavenletters #3872 You Can Inspire, July 2, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3872 You Can Inspire, July 2, 2011

God said:

Consider responsibility. Remember that you represent Me. You can be real and represent Me. Just remember that you represent Me. Consider how you represent Me.

You can inspire. You can authentically inspire even when you do not feel inspired. You don’t have to let everyone know what you are thinking or feeling at any given moment. Even when you feel like whining, you don’t have to. Who are you to whine? You have other alternatives at your disposal.

What does being a responsible person mean?

Certainly it is not your responsibility to discourage the world. Certainly it is not your responsibility to point out the errors of the world. Who asked you to? Certainly not I!

I never meant you to broadcast the newspaper headlines. I never asked you to speak ill of the world. I never asked you to air its foibles.

Because you feel disappointed is no reason to foster disappointment in the world. It doesn’t take much to be good at fostering disappointment. Be good at something else.

I ask you to go higher, and I mean now, not later, not just for when you feel like it. I ask you to spread light even when you don’t feel like it. Uplift even when you do not feel like it, and you will be uplifted. It is not for you to share the doldrums. If you feel you must be in the doldrums, then at least do not invite others in. What are you trying to prove? Are you trying to prove that you are a victim?

Why on Earth would you want to do that?

Prove that you are a hero instead.

Is it asking too much of you that I ask you, once and for all, to stop complaining?

The time for moaning and groaning is over. It is time to put a stop to it. There has been enough. The end of complaining has come. What was the purpose in complaining anyway?

What kind of accomplishment is complaint anyway?

Anyone can do it. There are probably some who can do it better than you, but why complain at all?

It is an old song. Be tired of it.

What is so revelatory about your disappointment and your disapproval?

What is it that prompts you to carry on with it?

If you have been complaining, stop now. It does not become a child of God to whine. Not at all. It is not necessary. Why would you gripe and gripe again when there are so many other choices before you?

Why would you gripe if only to yourself?

Do you really want to hear about it over and over again?

Is it music to your ears?

Are you really so in love with all the reasons why you are too straightforward to uplift the world?

Your mission in life cannot be to complain. I ask you to let go of pointing out wrongs, personal wrongs or otherwise.

Who wants to hear you moan about the rain or anything?

Be edifying instead. Look, can’t you find something interesting to talk about?

If there is something you have said once, don’t say it again. Well, don’t say it again unless it is far-seeing and opens the hearts of all those who hear you.

Why on Earth would you want to be a heart-closer when you have the opportunity of opening hearts and opening the whole world to itself?

When you can circulate love, why aren’t you?

I ask for your help in enlightening the world. Did you not know that?

If you did not know that, why didn’t you?

And if you know that now, well, then, act on it. This is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to inspire the world. This is what I ask of you. If you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, then pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Permanent Link: http://www.heavenletters.org/you-can-inspire.html

Thank you for including this link when publishing this Heavenletter elsewhere.

**********

Heavenletters #3874 Be the Glory, July 4, 2011
Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.

HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:

* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *

God is always bringing us closer to Him.

HEAVEN #3874 Be the Glory, July 4, 2011

God said:

Hear ye, hear ye. I am speaking to you. There is not a moment when I am not. There are moments when you hear. Will you kindly speak to Me?

Carry Me with you. Talk to Me as you would to a high-priced consultant. Here you have Me at your fingertips, as it were, and may not avail yourself of Our consultancy.

Even if you cannot hear Me in words, you can hear Me in feeling. You feel an urge to go in this direction or that direction. Something urges you forward or something stops you. Could it be I? Could I be at your elbow?

Certainly, there are times when you don't know what direction to take, and, yet, there are more times when you do know, and, yet, a little nudge from ego takes you down a path that does not serve you, or Me or anyone at all, well, except as a warning sign of a path not to go down.

One who steals justifies his stealing, as if stealing were just a slight turn in the world, as if your perceived need warranted it. If you steal in any sense of the word, you have made yourself needy. If you take honor that is not yours, you have stolen. If you take an invention that you did not invent as yours, you have stolen. If you take credit which is not yours, you have done a disservice to yourself.

You walk on hollow land.

Can you imagine that I would advise you to take that which is not yours?

And, once, you have done the deed, do you think I am no longer at your elbow?

I am right with you as ever, nudging you now. I will pick you up. I will embrace you as before.
No longer are you to hide behind any mask. Theft is a mask. Cruelty is a mask. Heartache is a mask.

Cleverness is a mask. Wit is a mask. Take off your masks, and you will find sincerity ready to come forth.

Sincerity is good. Sincere regret beats haughty pride, for regret shows recognition that you have passed a hurdle. Of course, let go of regret quickly. Regret is not a harbor. It is not an inn to stay in, not for even one night. Regret can also be a kind of pride. Pride at regret and pride of virtue are their own stumbling blocks, and are hard to get past. No longer rank yourself, and stop ranking others.

Confide in Me. I am with you now. Tell Me your story, not someone else's. There is no delight in making comparisons.

Come out of the shadows. Put down your defenses. Do you defend yourself from Me?

I know you better than you know yourself. I know in Whose image you are Made. You don't seem to believe it. You refuse to believe it, so inculcated have you been in the mirage of fault. You pick out your faults in a blink of an eye, and, sad as it is, you run away from the Wholeness that you are. Really, would you rather be a broken twig than a whole growing tree?

In Whose image do you want to be made other than in Mine?

And in Whose image would I want to make you other than Mine?

There is not even another image for Me to make you in. I am the only Image there is, and I am way beyond image, and you are greater than image. I am telling you that you are the real thing.

Take off your cloaks and masks, and just be the glory that I made when I made you.

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Miracle Tales andthe Domestication of Kuan-yin

Yü Chün-fang
Professor ofRutgers University

Summary
Miracle stories about Kuan-yin began to be compiled inthe fourth century and continue to be collected and circulated down tothe present day. In this article I discuss how the miracle tale collections served as a medium for the domestication of Kuan-yin by focusing on several questions.

First of all, who were the compilers?　

Is there any difference in the choices made on the selections between a monk compilor and that of a lay person?　

What is the role of literatias promoters of the belief in Kuan-yin?　

Second, to whom does Kuan-yin appear and how does the bodhisattva appear: in dreams or in broad daylight?　

as male or female?　

monkor layperson?　

from what dangers does Kuan-yin rescue the believer and what benefits does the bodhisattva bestow?　

Third, what is theconnection between icons, visions and the changing iconograpy of Kuan-yin?

Fourth, how are thecollections organized?　

are the individual stories simply listed one after another without anyclear organizational principle?

are they categorized to fit a scriptural paradigm and there by serve to provide evidential proof for the truth ofthe sutra?　

and finally, compared to the early collections, do the later collections show marked departures reflecting historical changes effected both bythe new developments of the cult and new anxieties and hopes of the believers?

關鍵詞：

1.Kuan-yin

2.miracle tales

3. “stimulus andresponse”（kan-ying）

 
Anyone who visits a temple inTaiwan, Hong Kong and even in Mainland China can often find posters, pamphlets, brochures and books piled on the side tables or stacked on bookshelves along the walls of the main hall. Theyare printed by lay devotees and are placed there for visitors to browse or take home for later reading.　

Among the pious literature distributed free in this fashion, many are scriptures, such as the Diamond Sutra, the Heart Sutra, the A-mi-t'o ching（Smaller Sukhavativyuha Sutra, but the“Universal Gateway” chapter of the Lotus Sutrais by far the favorite.　

Stories about Kuan-yin's miraculous responses are also found very frequently among them. This is one of the best ways for a true believer to spread the Dharma and to create merit for him／herself at the same time.
The compilation of such stories about Kuan-yin's salvific deeds is not of course a modern phenomenon It began already in the fourth century. Contemporary stories, like their ancient counterparts, are characterized by their specificity:

who experiences the event when and where are usually carefully noted. When we examine the modern stories, they attract our attention by their ability to address our current concerns. Kuan-yin saves devotees more from cancer and car accident, for instance, than from imprisonment and shipwreck as in former times.

As the time changes, people begin to have new problems and new fears instead of old ones. Kuan-yin is nevertheless still always ready and capableof rendering help. In thus updating and upgrading the bodhisattva's competence, the stories contribute to the continuing faith of the people in the savior.　

I argue that this has been the role played bythe miracle stories all along. It is through such stories that the Chinese people forma personal connection with Kuan-yin. The stories concretize the knowledge about Kuan-yin provided by the scriptures. They make the sculpted and painted images of Kuan-yin take on living life. Miracle tales teach people about Kuan-yin and validate what thescriptures claim the bodhisattva can do. They also bear a close relationship to the cult oficons. Experiences of miracles often lead to the creation oficons or, conversely, the worship of Kuan-yin images facilitate the experiences. Finally, how a person experiencing the miracle sees Kuan-yin in his/her vision can often be predetermined by the existing iconographies of the bodhisattva or, in another direction, lead to the creating of new ones. There is acircularity between Kuan- yin, the devotee, andthe icon.
I offer a few examples culled from a collection of such stories published in the Buddhist journal Lion's Roar（Shih-tzuhou), which could serve as one of several sources supplying materials for such devotional liteature distributed in the temples, the other sources being traditional compendia, oral accounts, and the compiler's personal experiences.
The first one comes from Mao Ling-yun who was the compiler of the collection. When he read the news in the newspaper Central Daily on October 22, 1974 that a typhoon was moving northwestly toward Taiwan, he began to chant the name of Kuan-yin with great sincerity and prayed that it would change direction or reduce its power so that it would not come ashore to create havoc. Sure enough, it began to move toward north and northeast, then suddenly turning directly westward, it left the area.

In the meantime, it reduced its power and did not even cause much rain in Taiwan. In recent years, he would pray to Kuan-yin when ever there was a warning for typhoon and everytime it happened like this.
The second story comes from a woman devotee named K'uan-fen Chan Chung who related it to the compiler. Mrs Chung lives in Tai-chung, Taiwan, right across from the International Cinema on Fu-hsing Road. Her third son, Ching-li, was standing in front of the front door one day in the fall of 1953 when he was fifteen years old. A freight truck suddenly veered right in order to avoid hitting the three children playing inthe middle of the street and struck him instead. His clothes were caught and he was dragged along by the truck which could not stop right away. He cried out three times, “My mother believes in the Buddha. Kuan-yin Bodhisattva, please come quickly to save me!” The truck came to a stop and fortunately he was not killed. But his left arm was mangled badly. Because sand and pebbles got mixed together with blood and flesh, they could not be taken out.

He stayed in the hospital for four days and the arm became black and festered. The doctor told the mother that he would have to amputate the arm in order to save the son's life. She asked the doctorto first cut away the festered part before attempting to amputatethe arm. She called on Kuan-yin throughout the operation. When the boy woke up from the anesthesia, he said, “Just now a white-robed doctor carried me to Heaven and made heavenly maidens dance for me. I was very happy.” Apparently the White-robed Kuan-yin　

used her skillful means and made him forget his pain. He dreamt three times of Kuan-yin sprinkle pure water with the willow branch on to his damaged arm and he felt immediate coolness. Flesh gradually grew and the arm was healed.

 
The third story was supplied bythe famous woman writer Hsieh Ping-ying who wrote the preface to the collection. She related that she fell and broke her right leg on August 31, 1972 on board the ship sailing for America. Because there was no doctor and no medicine, she spent the entire twenty days chanting the “Universal Gateway” chapter, the Great Compassion Dharani, and Kuan-yin's name to reduce her pain. When she landed in America she was x-rayed in Michigan and NewYork and her doctors were astonished. Because although the leg was broken and the bones were crushed, it was not infested or even swollen. This was truly a miracle! he added that in the following year, 1973, she went to a two-week retreat at theGolden Mountain Temple in San Francisco. During that time, she became very clear-headed and intelligent. She painted several pictures of the bodhisattva although she did not know how to paint and composed fifteen poems in half an hour although she had not written any poem for several decades.
When I interviewed pilgrims on P'u-t'o island in March of 1987, one of the questions I asked them was if they knew of any stories about Kuan-yin's response either to their own prayer or somebody else's.

Invariably the reply was affirmative. I will just cite two examples from my field notes. A young woman of twenty-four came with her mother, a retired nurse of forty-nine, from Shanghai to fulfill a vow（huan-yüan). Two years ago the mother came down with cancer of the intestines. When she was operated, the cancer was very advanced and had spread. So the doctor sewed her up and predicted that she would die soon. Mother prayed to Kuan-yin for a whole year and vowed that if she should survive, she would come to P'u-t'o to give thanks. Now two years had passed and she was well. That was why mother and daughter were there.

 
A fifty year old fisherman from Ning-p'o had come to P'u-t'o six times. He told me that originally he did not believe in Buddhism. But ten years ago, in 1977, his left pinky finger was bitenoff by a snake and the whole arm became paralyzed. He went to Shanghai andBeijing for cure but had no success after spending 4000 RMB. His mother then accompanied him to pray to Kuan-yin at the Buddha's Peak nickname for Hui-chi Monastery situated on the highest point ofthe island）on P'u-t'o. One month later he had a dream in which he receiveda shot. It was so piercingly painful that he jumped up in his sleep and woke his wife. Soon after he could move his left arm. Believing that Kuan-yin had saved him, he came in 1979, the first year when P'u-t'o was reopened to the public after theCultural Revolution. He went up to the Buddha'sPeak following the Pilgrim'sPath（an uphill path leading from Fa-yü Monastery to Hui-chi Monastery）, bowing every three steps to show his thankfulness. He also told me about a miracle which happened to eight fishermen whom he met. Their boat went out with three other boats three years ago. There was a big storm and the other boats capsized drowning more than forty people. They followed a light which appeared in front of them and reached P'u-t'o safely.

When they embarked, the light also disappeared. They started coming every year on the 19th day of the 6th month （one of the three holy days of Kuan-yin, the day Kuan-yin achieved enlightenment）, making one full prostration after walking every three steps along thePilgrim's Path.

Miracle Tales and the Theory of kan-ying
I have called these stories “miracle tales” , for they do share a common feature with miracles as understood in the Western traditions. According to the Encyclopaedia Brittannica, miracle is “an extraordinary and astonishing happening that is attributed to the presence and action of an ultimate ordivine power” （Micropaedia VI: 927c）. What happened to the individuals whose stories I have retold would undoubtedly have been viewed by the mas nothing but extraordinary and astonishing.　They would also attribute them to the divine powerof Kuan-yin.　The Chinese word for such stories, however, isling-kan,“efficacious response” , or ling-ying, “efficacious manifestation” , or ying-yen, “evidential manifestation”. All these expressions are derived from an indigenous world view which believes that everything in the world is interrelated and interdependent. This beliefis called kan-ying which literally means “stimulas and response”, or, “sympathetic resonance”. John Henderson, referring to it as“cosmic resonance”, says, “According to this theory, things of the same category but in different cosmic realms were supposed to affect one another by virtue of a mutual sympathy, to resonate like properly attuned pitchpipes” （1984: 20）.

The relationship between the devotees and Kuan-yin is built on the theory of Ｋan-yin： their prayer and calling aloud of Kuan-yin's name is the initiating stimulus or trigger which, when it is sincere and desperate enough, is answered with Kuan-yin's response. Kuan-yin does not act gratuitously.　

Human suppliants are linked to Kuan-yin through sincerity（cheng）, for it is through sincerity that the mechanism of stimulus and response is set into motion. Although Avalokiteshvara was already known in India as the savior from perils, and Buddhist scriptures proclaim this as a central message, the Chinese compilers of miracle tales nevertheless understood the miraculous workings through this indigenous epistomological lense, just as the persons who themselves experienced the events did.
In order for us to understand why the Chinese see Kuan-yin in this way, it maybe helpful to discuss briefly the Chinese views of the universe prior to the introduction of Buddhisminto China. The world in which human beings live is called in the Chinese language, “Heaven andEarth”（t'ien-ti）.

Unlike most other religions, Chinese religion does not have a creator god. On the contrary, as seen in the Book of Changes（I-ching）, one of the basic Confucian classics, and a divinatory handbook of great antiquity, “Heaven andEarth” , is the origin of everything, including human beings, in the universe. This creating and sustaining force, otherwise known as Tao or the Way, is seen as good and the highest goal of the human life is to live in conformity to it. There is no God transcendent and separate from the world

At the root of all power and motion, there is music and rhythm, the play of patterned frequencies against the matrix of time, Before we make music, music makes us.

- George Leonard -

Scatter the ashes of the past, happy in the wind. It is so healing, when you start again.

Sigrid Burger

When you don't choose love, you choose fear.

- iJourney.org Editors -

I am, therefore I thank.

Cindy Lubar Bishop

If we are to create peace in our world, we must begin with our children.

- Mahatma Gandhi –

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.

Thomas Merton

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.

- Arundhati Roy -

Sticks in a bundle cannot be broken.
Bondei Proverb

Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know.

- Mitch Albom -

Recipients of our appreciation are apt to express their own gratitude to others, lengthening the unending, golden chain of connections-in-goodness that stretches across the world.

Mary Ford Grabowsky

The Way of Mary

A song is a bridge between what we know, what we can feel, and the big mystery.

- Kate Munger –

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that wisdom is learning what to overlook.

William James said that, and he had it absolutely right.

And someone in your life right now is hoping, praying,
that you will overlook their faults, their foibles, their
most recent mistake.

Will you?

The Universe invites you to say yes.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that you can change what you see. You don't have
to be trapped by it.

Nothing has to remain the way it is, and nothing is
the way it is forever unless and until you say so.

You really are in charge of your day-to-day
experience. Really.

You know exactly why you received this message
today.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that enthusiasm is half of the journey to success, and
all of the journey to joy.

If you're going to do something, do it with gusto. Don't
do anything half-heartedly. That dishonors the doing
and the doer. So go for it. Hold nothing back. In life.

Or love. Or anything at all.

You will not have to think but a second to know
exactly why you received this message today.

Trust that your inner goodness will rule this moment...

Love, Your Friend

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that kindness is one of your wonderful traits, but
where you really shine is in your generosity.

It is one thing to be kind, and you are that. Yet it is quite
another thing to also be unfailingly generous--with your
time, your talent and energy, your willingness to
"be there" for others, and yes, with your money.

You are a generous person, and that takes kindness
to a new level. Be happy in the knowingness of this.

Love, Your Friend.

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know......

that life was meant to be FUN! It's hard to believe
sometimes, but it's true. It's all about point of view.

Even our most difficult moments bring us gifts. And so
life may call upon us to be a bit "philosophical" now and
then; to embrace the "low's" with the "high's."

The trick, of course, is gratitude. Therein will you find
both your peace and your joy.

Love, Your Friend

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that your inner goodness is going to carry the day.

I know that you know what a good person you are.

Yes, we all make mistakes, but when everything is said
and done, you are a genuinely good person...and you
know it.

So here's what you should be told: God knows it, too.

Trust that your inner goodness will rule this moment...

Love, Your Friend...

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that illness is not a sign of spiritual weakness, but of
spiritual strength.

When we fall ill there are some who will say, "Why
did you create that for yourself?" They might convince
you to see it as a sign of spiritual weakness or failure.

It is not. It is a sign of spiritual strength.

All challenges are a sign of spiritual strength, and of
the readiness of the Soul to move on;
to evolve even further.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that progress is not measured in miles, it is measured
in inches.

Do not wonder why things are "taking so long." In fact,
everything is rolling out exactly as it needs to, using
not a minute more than Perfection requires.

Rest easy and be at peace. Life is working its magic
even as you take your very next breath.

There. See? You could almost feel the Perfection,
couldn't you?

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that how bad things may look right now means nothing.
It's how good you know they can look with God's help
that counts.

Life has a habit of changing itself completely around in
24 hours. Heck, in 24 minutes sometimes.

Don't you dare give up on Tomorrow because of the
way things look Today. Don't even think about it...

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that obstacles are not opposing you, but merely and
gently re-routing you.

It is important not to view that which stands in your
way as your 'enemy.' It can often be your best friend,
sending you on a detour that takes you around what
could have been your biggest stumbling block.

Send a word of gratitude, then, for anything that seems
to be 'opposing' you now. All things in life happen for
good. Trust God about that.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that intimacy means more than sex, as you know. Tell
others that, for you, it is about the connection of souls.

It is the true union of two beings. It is about walking
through all moments, both good and bad, and never
leaving the other's side.

You are intimate when you are fully with another, no
matter what. In fact, this has very little to do with that
which is physical.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that you cannot tailor-make your situation in life, but you
can tailor-make your attitudes to fit those situations.

World famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said that, and
he was profoundly right. How you shape your attitude is not
a small part of how you shape your life...it is the only part.

Does it sound as if I'm saying that attitude is everything?

Good. Because I am.

Love, Your Friend

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that someone is extending love to you this day, and
hoping so dearly that you will receive it.

You have asked for someone to love you right now,
and God has answered your prayer. Look. Listen.
That loving person is right in your world. Open the
door for them to come in.

I promise you, I'm not making this up. Someone is
loving you right now. Look. Listen. Let it in.

There, I've said it twice. God wanted me to make sure
you really got it.

Love, Your Friend

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that there is no need to be afraid. Even if you were to
die right now, there would be no need to be afraid.

This life, this wonderful life, is on your side. This universe,
this wonderful universe, is in your corner, supporting all
of life. This God, this wonderful God, places Divine
wisdom and power in your hands.

Trust that. Use it. And let it give you strength. Right now.
This day.

Love, Your Friend..

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that there is a solution to all of this--and it is right
around the next corner.

A few weeks from now you will not even be facing
this problem. A few months from now, you will have
forgotten you ever had it. A few years from now, you
will wonder why you let yourself worry so much.

I'm not trying to make light of it here. I just want to
put it in perspective.

Okay? Trust God here. Trust life. And breathe.

Love, Your Friend.

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that you can live a charmed life, and that there is a
formula by which you can make this work.

Here is the formula: You can live a charmed life by
causing others to live a charmed life. That is, be the
source of 'charm' -- of charming moments and
experiences -- in the life of another.

Be everyone else's Lucky Charm! Make all who you
touch today feel 'lucky' that you crossed their path.

Do this for a week and watch things change. Do it
for a month and you'll be a different person.

Love, Your Friend

*********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that nothing is as bad as it seems. Nothing.

There is a benefit and a blessing hidden in the folds
of every experience and every outcome. That includes
every and any 'bad' thing that may be happening to
you right now.

Change your perspective. Know that nothing happens
ever that is not for your highest good. All that needs
to change for you to see this...is your definition of
'Highest Good.'

Love, Your Friend..

**********

On this day of your life, Melodie, I believe God wants you to know...
...that disappointment is temporary. Only your thought
it is permanent.
Change your mind about what has disappointed you
and you will change your life. All disappointment is
just Advantage, looked at from the other side.

You will not have to think but a second to know
exactly why you received this message today.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that the best argument you can make
is no argument
at all.

Do not argue with life, or with anyone in life. Life
presents itself perfectly in every moment, and every
person believe his or her point of view to be valid
and 'right.'

Arguing with any of this is pointless, and a terrific
waste of energy. Simply create what you choose next.

Love, Your Friend

***********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that you've just had a really good idea!

Don't deny it! Don't cast it aside, or "put if off 'til
tomorrow," or in some other way give it short shrift.

Ideas are gifts from heaven. Don't dishonor them.

Jump right on it. Make it happen.

That's what ideas are for!

You will not have to think but a second to know
exactly why you received this message today.

Love, Your Friend

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that perfectionism is the enemy of creation.

John Updike said that, and he was right. He understood
that nothing stops the forward march of any creative
endeavor like the need to do it absolutely perfectly.

And who is to judge what is 'perfect' anyway? What I
have judged full of flaws so many others have called
terrific. Maybe the definition of Perfection is something

that actually gets done.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that you should act like you expect to get into the
end zone.

Football coach Joe Paterno said that, and boy, did
he have it right. Nothing substitutes for positive thinking.

Nothing. It is more powerful than all the money, all the
influence, all the 'friends in high places' on earth.

You only need one friend in high places--and you already
have that. So go ahead, expect to get into the end zone.

You'll find that you do, 90% of the time.

Love, Your Friend....

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that life begins now -- right now -- not tomorrow or
the next day or the next.

Every minute of every hour of every day, life begins
anew. That means everything can change in an instant.

It also means you can have a new beginning
whenever you want.

Why put off for one day that decision you've been
pondering...aren't you just putting life itself on hold?

Love, Your Friend

**********

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...
...that it's okay to go ahead and take a risk.

There's no guarantee that everything will turn out exactly
the way you want it to, but there IS a guarantee that it
cannot possibly do so if you are afraid to even take the
chance.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" is not just a nifty
old-time saying. It's wisdom. Listen to it.

You know exactly why you received this message today.

Love, Your Friend....

If We Are in the Matrix Who Controls Us? The Truth May Be Surprising
http://youtu.be/4JVZR9DH0oQ

( http://19justinbrown88.yolasite.com/john-todd.php ) Morpheus told Neo that he was a slave. A slave to whom? The matrix. Now, what exactly is this matrix and who runs it? Did the movie The Matrix give us clues about our own world and how it works? Or, was it just entertainment and fiction?

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Escaping the Matrix full length June 11 2011 original
http://youtu.be/vy7nKB_nTwk

Please understand how the eyes and brain work. This is the real key to understanding what we call life!

The physical world is not real.http://youtu.be/LO4GH8bmYEg

Athene's Theory of Everything
http://youtu.be/dbh5l0b2-0o

The Aurora
http://youtu.be/sBWPCvdv8Bk

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The Aurora Borealis

by Per Byhring PLUS1 year ago
This video explains how particles originating from deep inside the core of the sun creates northern lights, also called aurora borealis, on our planet.

The Aurora Borealis from Per Byhring on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/25811412

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This video explains how particles originating from deep inside the core of the sun creates northern lights, also called aurora borealis, on our planet.
http://youtu.be/lT3J6a9p_o8

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http://youtu.be/YJBrMXSn-hU

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Amazing video of beautiful Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) shot in Finnish Lapland in the winter of 2011.

Unbelievable Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in Lapland, Finland
http://youtu.be/Lc3FxNXjBs0

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Beautiful space weather on Saturn, from the Cassini spacecraft. From NASA/JPL.
Saturn's Beautiful Aurora
http://youtu.be/7AmyfuJDMlY

A new monumental moment is approaching as the newest Martian rover closes in on its journey towards the Red Planet. Curiosity has been trekking through space since last November, and will be completing its 352-million-mile journey on August 5, 10:31 Pacific time. This Sunday, redOrbit will be bringing you live coverage of the event, nicknamed "seven minutes of terror," from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Bringing the Mars Science Laboratory safely into the Martian atmosphere, and landing Curiosity onto its surface is not a simple task. NASA has acknowledged the difficulty its engineers will be facing this Sunday, by making one of the most complicated landings in the space agency's history from over 300 million miles away.

MSL launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on November 26 at 10:02 a.m. eastern time from Cape Canaveral last year. Since then, it has been making its way through space at nearly 13,000 mph. During NASA's "seven minutes of terror" in trying to land the rover safely on Mars, engineers must bring the 13,000 mph spacecraft down to 1.7 mph before reaching the surface to ensure Curiosity lands in one piece. The car-sized rover will be landing beside a Martian mountain in Gale Crater to begin a two year mission of scientific work, helping to uncover whether the area has ever had a suitable environment to support life. In order to reach its landing spot, Curiosity will be flying like a wing in the upper atmosphere of Mars, instead of dropping down lie a rock and utilizing the airbag method.

At about seven miles above the surface of the planet, and at a velocity of 900 mph, MSL will deploy a parachute to slow down the descent even more. The spacecraft will be riding down towards the surface for about another six miles before reaching 180 mph. At this stage, curiosity will be released, and the "sky crane" method will be initiated. Mission engineers designed a "sky crane" method for the final several seconds of the flight. During this journey towards the surface, a backpack with retrorockets controlling the descent speed will lower the rover on three nylon cords just before touchdown. NASA said 76 pyrotechnic devices must fire on time during the descent to get Curiosity to the surface.

Rover Curiosity sends back first colour picture from the surface of the Mars, Aug 6, 2012
http://youtu.be/kbqgBNaCcfM

Uploaded by sidddhartha89 on 5 Jul 2011

NOTE: FOR ALL THOSE WHO DENY THE EXISTENCE OF UNTOUCHABLITY IN INDIA

INDIA UNTOUCHED will make it impossible for anyone in India to deny that Untouchability is still practiced today. Director Stalin K. and his team spent four years traveling the length and breadth of India to bear witness to the continued exclusion and segregation of those considered as 'Untouchables' .

The film introduces leading Benares scholars who interpret Hindu scriptures to mean that Dalits 'have no right' to education, and Rajput farmers who proudly proclaim that the police must seek their permission before pursuing cases of atrocities on Dalits. The film captures many 'firsts-on-film, ' such as Dalits being forced to dismount from their cycles and remove their shoes when in the upper caste part of the village.

It exposes the continuation of caste practices and Untouchability in Sikhism, Christianity and Islam, amongst the Communists in Kerala and within some of India's most revered academic and professional institutions.

In an age where the media projects only one image of a 'rising' or 'poised' India, this film reminds us how far the country is from being an equal society. Traveling through eight states and four religions, this film is perhaps the deepest exploration of caste oppression ever undertaken on film.

Stalin K is a human rights activist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. He is the Co-Founder of DRISHTI- Media, Arts and Human Rights, Convener of the Community Radio Forum-India, and the India Director of Video Volunteers. He is a renowned public speaker and has lectured or taught at over 20 institutions ranging from the National Institute of Design and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India, to New York University and Stanford and Berkeley in the US.

INDIA UNTOUCHED is Stalin's second film on the issue of caste -- his earlier film 'Lesser Humans', on manual scavenging, won the Silver Conch at the Mumbai International Film Festival and the Excellence Award at Earth Vision Film Festival, Tokyo, and helped to bring international attention to the issue of caste.

NOTE:Copyrights belong to the owner of the video, I dont hold the copyrights, Video uploaded to propogate the fact, reality and truth of India. No other intentions. IF any issue let me know will delete it.

Jai Bhim
Siddhartha Chabukswar

India Untouched: Darker side of India: 1 [HQ]
http://youtu.be/uM85zVt6xCU

India Untouched: Darker side of India: 2 [HQ]
http://youtu.be/If2Vad5NjD8

India Untouched: Darker side of India: 3 [HQ]
http://youtu.be/dhKxNfQOSTU

India Untouched: Darker side of India: 4 [HQ]
http://youtu.be/C7uNds7fmCE

04 August: 144 Birthday of Master CVV – Transmitting the Energies of Synthesis

 http://blog.good-will.ch/WordPress/2012/08/03/04-august-144-birthday-of-master-cvv-transmitting-the-energies-of-synthesis/

On 4 August is Master CVVs birthday. 1868, 144 years ago (12 x 12; in Indian counting the 144 years were completed already last year), he took birth in the South Indian city of Kumbhakonam.

His purpose was to transmit the Aquarian energies to the planet and to the beings living on it. He was the carrier of these energies of synthesis which were supposed by theosophists to come through a young man whom in the beginning of the last century they had prepared for this reception – the later J. Krishnamurti – but the energy took another way and manifested unnoticed by those who had done their own plannings. Many thought that the whole was a funny story of the theosophists – which caused many to leave the path or turn to other movements -, but it was only another way things developed.

When I first came to know of Master CVV in the 80ies I felt strangely “hit” by his energies, but it took a number of years before there was the second impulse: In 1996 when reading the book “The Aquarian Master” – it was for me like a clap of thunder. I felt more and more attracted by the profound energy he transmitted. When in January 201o I came to his birthplace, where, together with Sri Kumar (Master KPK), we had a group meeting with about 200 persons, the intense meditations there were for me a tremendous experience which left a deep mark in my life.

Master CVV was born under the sun sign Leo, the sign of the heart centre. During the seminar on Agni in 1991 Master KPK pointed out the importance of the mission of Master CVV in relation to the heart centre. Please find below some lines from that lecture.

“There is an internal journey that will be conducted through heart lotus. That is why it is said: ‘Heart is the gateway for the interior and exterior understanding’ – The meeting of the inner man and the outer man is in the heart centre. Hence the importance of working with the heart lotus. And it has such syllabus as covering the four triangles to meet the light, to develop the body which we call ‘the body of light’. And the Master whom we call Master CVV, He started pushing light from that centre into the petals, because in the scheme of the divine plan, time has come where humanity needed to be evolved rather quickly. And hence, He started emitting the Ray of Uranium from the heart lotus. So, when there is the invocation of the sound CVV, there is the piercing light of Uranium functioning from within the heart lotus which is a quality of the planet Uranus. And as this light shines forth into the lotus of the heart, there is the unfolding of the lotus quickly. That is why events happen very quickly in the personality life of the people.

And as many brothers and sisters expressed here in the beginning of the class, invariably everyone expressed that there is so much change ever since the last group meeting or the meeting before the last group meeting. And if we listen to the cassette which is recorded when they were speaking, many people said: “Many things changed in my life!” And the others said: “Everything changed in my life!” It is the stimulation of the Aquarian energy from within the heart lotus that makes it possible. That is what is called ‘the Mission of the Master CVV’ which you all can receive and then work with it. I told you yesterday that a flower cannot be opened from outside. Until there is an effort from within, there cannot be much cooperation coming from external sources. I also told that more often, if we try to open the petals of the flower from outside, the petals break. Even a high initiate like Madam Blavatsky has written that there is an eternal law where unfolding cannot be done from external support, unless there is an impulse from within to unfold. The outer is ready to help us, but the inner is not ready to receive the help. So, with much love, compassion and understanding, the Sons of Light have been waiting all through.

Then came a brilliant new law. Why not we work from within outside? And that law descended upon the planet, and that energy linked up the Cosmic Kundalini with the Earth Kundalini, and consequently the new energies started functioning from within outside with a new impulse. This is the extra dimension which the planet and the planetary beings are witnessing in this century. And hence, the speed of functioning and the progress achieved! In respect of all kingdoms, there is very speedy evolution. The speedy evolution is there with metal, with plant, with animal and with human beings.

All this is attributed to the visit of the new energy. And what is witnessed by the man of the 20th century was not witnessed in the previous ten centuries. To scope up with the speed, man is also prepared from within.”

Receiving the energies of synthesis – a painting I did in 2011

http://blog.good-will.ch/WordPress/2012/08/03/04-august-144-birthday-of-master-cvv-transmitting-the-energies-of-synthesis/

Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.

Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the East, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity.

Narrated By: Sir David Attenborough

Natural World: Himalayas (BBC)
http://youtu.be/yp8FISlHRdA

Land of God & Goddess - Dev Bhoomi !!! Discover the importance of Ma Ganga in this spellbinding journey to the Himalayas!

The epic journey to find the source of the Ganges . Reaching the temple of Gangotri - the place where Hindus believe that Ganges first appeared on Earth. Further on we will also trail Kedarnath, Valley of Flowers, Yamunotri and Badrinath.

Nanda Devi is India's second highest peak and shelters the Bhyander Valley, home to the remarkable Valley of Flowers. Covered in snow for the majority of the year, it is transformed when the snow melts during the short summer and the high meadows become carpeted in spectacular flowers of every colour. Fantastic cinematography from the epic series of Ganges. GK Travel & Tours.

Ganges or Ganga - A Complete Documentary: [MUST WATCH]
http://youtu.be/UM9aPy7H534

A Simple Mantra for Healing Your Dark Night of the Soul

When you can't see the sun shining, learn these steps to find the light within.
BY: Rajiv Parti, MD (aka Dr. Raj)

Healing form my ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ was not easy but the three main steps I had to go through were:

1. Forgive 2. Love and 2. Heal.

This mantra “Forgive, Love, Heal” will help one heal from a dramatic ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ as mine or even what I call a ‘Mini Dark Night’ – which can happen all the time to us in busy modern life: they could be simple things like being shown thefinger in an unloving exchange, or being cut off on the road in traffic!

In my own ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ I had to deal with prostrate cancer, surgical complications, life threatening sepsis, depression, chronic pain and dependency on pain medications. I had to sell my house, quit my job, all the while feeling how my marriage tethered and my health suffered.

I was very angry at myself, at God, the people, at the world – at the universe.

My healing happened in three steps.

The First Step is to Forgive

I had to forgive my self for any thing I had done, or contributed to the dark night. Forgive the circumstances. ‘Forgive’ God and accept God’s will. I had to surrender to the possibility that the Spirit alone has the infinite wisdom. There were the lessons I had to learn in this life time, so that I could evolve.

The forgiveness is defined as:

“the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense,difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution.“

To help in forgiveness process I re-discovered the serenity prayer:

“God grant me the serenityto accept the things I cannot change;courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference.”

It transformed me. I started to live in present in the ‘Now’ and not be stuck in what my circumstance once were in past or what I wanted them to be in future.

The Second Step is to Love

The second step was to start to love myself, my life, my circumstances.

The beauty is that when I started to love ‘myself’, my health improved in leaps. I started eating healthy, going to the gym regularly, meditating and praying regularly.

This self love should not mean a narcissistic way of prioritizing the self at the cost of others, for I truly believe one can only love others when one becomes ‘love’ itself. I started to have gratitude and love re-kindled for the Spirit, the people, the world, the environment; I even changed my car form Hummer to a Camry Hybrid.

Love is defined as:

“A virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection and the unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another and oneself" As famous Mother Teresa quote comes to mind:

“We all can not do great things but we all can do things with great love”

We all can each become a sun of of love – radiating love all around.

So my friends start the ‘ripple effect’ from the heart, from inside your heart, from your Source.

The Third Step is to Heal

After the first two steps of change within our mind, and within our heart comes the step that addresses change at the level of the soul, our spirit.

I have observed in others, and personally experienced that to really heal, there has to be a ‘shift’ that has to happen at a deep level of our consciousness. Effectively, the consciousness has to not just heal but evolve too.

Healing is defined as:

“to make healthy, whole, restore to health; to rejuvenate ,to free from evil; cleanse; purify"
Looking back I am thankful to the Spirit for the circumstances I had to go through. It has brought love, compassion, ‘Seva’ (service with gratitude), sharing, and creativity as my guiding principles – where as before I lived for cancerous materialism, expensive toys, the satisfaction of myself above all others: it really was all about me: my status.

My ‘Dark Night’ transformed me to find my true Divine purpose and my Dharma to be a Healer at the Soul level. I wouldn’t be writing this but for going through the the heat of that Dark Night.It made me whole.

I learnt to embrace my Dark Shadow.

A Gandhi Quote comes to mind… “Be the change you want to see in the world”

Yesterday only I received a short email from a friend who had seen me last a few years back. It said: “Hi Raj – It was so nice to have you with us last weekend! you have changed a lot since I saw you last in India.”

Another friend said how after five years of knowing that one can see how even how I drive has changed. That is so true.I was always in rush in the fast lane.

But now I have what I will call ‘Buddha Driving’ !

I am driving in the middle lane. Somebody cuts me off? So be it – they must be in rush.

So my friends – my experience is that this approach works. Through the practice of my own prescription for Wellness in the Soul of Wellness, and through the adoption of this mantra – “Forgive, Love and Heal” – I have managed to reduce my doctor’s orders to take 36 pills every morning to manage my health crisis down to only 5 different pills a day.

The truth is that I have gotten myself out of intense pain, managed to free myself from depression, free myself of addiction, and reverse being overweight through this mantra. The quality of my relationships with my beloved wife, my beautiful children, mydear friends and working associates – is, I can tell you – genuinely infused with joy, understanding, love and laughter.

My advice is to not just say the mantra, but to practice it – to live it: to BE the change it beckons from us.

Rajiv Parti, MD (aka Dr. Raj) is a world leading specialist in pain management with over 30 years practicing clinical experience. He was the Chief of Anesthesiology at Bakersfield Heart Hospital where he specialized in cardiac anesthesia for 15 years. Dr. Raj founded the Pain Management Institute of California, and under his direction it has served thousands ofpatients for acute and chronic pain relief.

He now specializes in promotingspiritual wellness and personal growth with various non-traditional healingmodalities. His new book The Soul of Wellness is being released by Select Books in October 2012. www.drraj.com

Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Wellness/Articles/A-Simple-Mantra-for-Healing-Your-Dark-Night-of-the-Soul.aspx#ixzz20deWiQQO