“The first duty of love is to listen. Furthermore, if you sense that the world is animated by a loving presence and your own life somehow witnessed, you listen back in the spirit of conversation.”

– theologian Paul Tillich

Insight into life is the real religion, which alone can help men to understand life.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Kha

Good deeds, kindness, forgiveness, tolerance, acts of love, none of these are ever lost, and some day they will return to us. Even if the recipient appears ungrateful or heedless, it is all the same. There is no need to be disappointed even if he proves to be unworthy of our kindness and our love. When we realize that all life is one life, we discover that it is to that life that we give our love and kindness and mercy. Then it is bound to return to us, if not today, perhaps next week. If not next week, perhaps next year. If not here, then somewhere where we never expected it could possibly come. 'Thou shalt find it after many days.'

"Information is doubling faster all the time. It took from the time of Jesus
to the time of Leonardo for one doubling of knowledge. The next doubling
of knowledge was completed before the American Revolution, the next
one by 1900, the next one by 1950, the next one by 1960. You see how
[it keeps] moving faster? Now knowledge is doubling every eighteen
months."

"With all these new bits, bytes, blips of information, no model can last
long because models only include the bytes of information that were
available when the model was made. As new bytes of information come in
it gets harder and harder to adjust our old models to include the new blips
and beeps of information, so we've got to make new models."

- Robert Anton Wilson, http://tinyurl.com/ocvorz

dare I mention the conscious or unconscious connection with
the galatic shift as we head towards Dec. 21, 2012, when the Mayan
calendar ends.
We are currently moving to a rare celestial alignment of our solar
system, our sun, and our planet with the center of the galaxy -- an
event that will not happen again for another 26,000 years. Many people feel that
'something' is going to happen -- the question is, What? The best read
so far I've had on this subject is The Mystery of 2012, Predictions, Prophecies &
Possibilities published by Sounds True, Inc. USA. I urge you to read up on
this coming event.

From The Jawhar Al-Dhat

Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each a mystic silence Love demands.
What do all seek so earnestly? 'Tis Love.
What do they whisper to each other? Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts.
In Love no longer 'thou' and 'I' exist,
For Self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul,
Behold the Friend; Incomparable Love.
He who would know the secret of both worlds,
Will find the secret of them both, is Love.

He who is looking for a reward is smaller than his reward; he who has renounced a thing has risen above it.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

For anyone who is interested in getting better control over anger, frustration and self protection ~
understanding Mars energy is very important. In general, the planets are not "up there", they are
energies that are "in here" ~ within each of us. The universal principles that we all share come from
the planets. How we, each of us, experience these universal principles separately is related to our
karma with that planet/energy.
In Vedic astrology scriptures they say he gives "strength". It is an interesting word. When we have true
strength, we do not become angry and frustrated, fearfully protecting ourselves from others. True
strength comes from the ability to be disciplined each moment, and put our principles into action. This
requires that we forgo a certain amount of pleasure at times (like waking up early to do our meditation,
rather than sleeping late) but, eventually, it gives us true strength and power. We're only frustrated in as
much as we are unable to put our principles into action.
There is always a fine line between what is "right" and "what makes us happy". Mars is related to what
is right, Venus is related to what makes us happy. Mars and Venus have been together in the sky for the
last month or so with Mars very subdued, somewhat dominated by Venus. We may have compromised
our principles quite a lot the last month and a half, or so, looking for happiness. However, Mars has
entered his own sign, Aries, on Saturday, May 23rd.
The transits of Mars through Aries is going to activate a more disciplined, and potentially, frustrated and
angry nature. Be careful destroying things, and people, because you are feeling weak and undisciplined.
Look inside rather than outside for the true source of strength.

How to "Better" Deal With Mars in Aries:

~ Start or Rededicate to your meditation practice
~ Eat less
~ Exercise more
~ Compassionately face the mistakes you keep making over and over again
~ Compassionately face the same criticisms you have heard your whole life
~ Do not lash out angrily at others
~ Surprise them instead in servitude


In no small part, Mars is the "fight to the death" instinct within each of us. We all have the kill or be
killed instinct. When we're fighting for our life, our adrenaline glands fire and numbs us to the pain we
are feeling and inflicting. We can be stabbed and shot and not even feel it while we're fighting for life.
The same numbness to pain happens when we're angry. We become numb to the pain we are causing
another person and our self. The great saint Ammachi compares anger to a knife with a blade on both
ends. Not only do you stab another with such a knife, but just holding the knife cuts you as well. Between
May 23rd and July 1st there is a high capacity for increased discipline, strength and rededication to our
higher purposes. But, there is also a high capacity for frustration, anger and destruction if we're not careful.

STUDY MORE ABOUT MARS, HEALING THE ENERGY, BY ATTENDING THE PLANETARY PUJA,
SUNDAY, JUNE 14TH ~ OMPALACE YOGAVIDYA

Reservation required.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ih3RoDASkw&feature=PlayList&p=D138B075C21A2BCA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=25

- Gregg Braden

The idea that there is something more that needs to be seen or known in the future before you can be free or enlightened is fuel for the spiritual search. The search is not the answer. It's the problem. The search arises from a misperception that you are not already there.
But where is 'there'? What is it? The most the mind can do is come up with a concept to put in place of the word 'there.' It believes that it must reach something called freedom, enlightenment, presence, love, awareness, Oneness, contentment or 'the end of the search.' Each of those is merely a concept.
Like a hamster on a wheel, the mind is chasing its own concepts. The search is perpetuated when concepts are taken to be real and are not seen for what they really are — tempoorary forms arising and falling in the space of now. What is being pointed to here is not conceptual. It is the recognition that who you are is inseparable from this space. You are, at the deepest level, the space in which everything arises and falls.
Confirming that you are this space reveals what is being pointed to with words like 'enlightenment,' and 'presence.' Realize that what you have been seeking is what you already are. No matter what idea you have of yourself in the future, see that it is only an image arising in the space of now.

~ by Scott Kiloby

Rest of mind is as necessary as rest of body, and yet we always keep the former in action.

Imagine, after having toiled for the whole day, how much the body stands in need of rest; how much more then must the mind stand in need of rest! The mind works much faster than the body. Naturally the mind is much more tired than the body. And not every person knows how to rest his mind and therefore the mind never has a rest. And then what happens after a while is that the mind becomes feeble. It loses memory, the power of action. It loses reason. The worst effects are mostly brought about by not giving the mind proper repose. If such infirmities as doubt and fear happen to enter the mind, then a person becomes restless, he can never find rest. For at night the mind continues on the track of the same impressions. Simple as it seems to be, very few know the resting of the mind and how wonderful it is in itself. And what power, what inspiration, comes as a reaction from it, and what peace one experiences by it, and how it helps the body and mind! The spirit is renewed once the mind has had its rest. The first step towards the resting of the mind is the relaxation of the body. If one is able to relax one's muscular and nervous system at will, then the mind is automatically refreshed. Besides that, one must be able to cast away anxiety, worries, doubts, and fears by the power of will, putting oneself in a restful state. This will be accomplished by the help of proper breathing. We usually rest our body at will whenever circumstances allow us to; we recline on a couch or in an armchair after coming back from the office or work and at night we rest and go to sleep; but when do we give the mind a rest? Rest for the mind is as necessary as rest for the body, and yet we always keep the mind in action. It is constantly at work even if our body is resting. ...

All this shows the great practical need for the mind to be at rest, for the mind to be stilled. Those who make it a principle that work is always an advisable thing are one-sided. Balance lies in perceiving that work and rest are equally necessary for good health, both physical and mental. The work of the body is sometimes kept under a man's control, but he does not keep the work of the mind under his control. This is not because he cannot do so; it is because he never thinks about it.

This little film is 16 minutes full of pure, unadulterated joy. It's called "Validation" - It sure made my day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Aos

"They call this apocalyptic times and fear the end of the world. But let's
compare our lot with folks in medieval Europe. Most land belonged to the
nobility and the church. Peasants, who comprised the vast majority of the
population, were forced to live off small strips of land, and a bad harvest
or harsh taxes could leave thousands on the verge of starvation, with
little hope. Bands of outlaws -- poachers, thieves, vagrants, murderers,
rapists -- were common. Life was nasty, brutish, and short."

-Stewart Ross, *Bandits and Outlaws*

All planes of existence consist of vibrations, from the finest to the
grossest kind; the vibrations of each plane have come from a higher one,
and have become grosser. Whoever knows the mystery of vibrations, he
indeed knows all things. ... From the scientific standpoint, spirit and
matter are quite different from each other, but according to the
philosophical point of view they are one. Spirit and matter are
different, just as water is different from snow; yet again they are not
different, for snow is nothing other than water. When spiritual
vibrations become more dense they turn into matter, and when material
vibrations become finer they develop into spirit. Wisdom only evolves
and matures as vibrations are understood. So if your matter desires to
be more refined and wholesome, study and practise the vibrational
aspects of reality in everything and everyone.

~HARISH JOHARI

He who depends upon his eyes for sight, his ears for hearing and his mouth for speech, he is still dead.
It is the soul that sees, but we attribute sight and hearing to the eyes and ears. In absence of the soul neither the body nor the mind can see. When a person is dead the eyes are there, but they cannot see; the ears are there, but they cannot hear.... When the eyes are closed, do you think that the soul sees nothing? It sees. When the ears are closed, do you think that the soul hears nothing? It hears. If we depend on our eyes for sight, and our ears for hearing, and our mouth for speech, we are still dead. But we sometimes experience in life that which we see without eyes, hear without ears, and express without speech. If we have once seen without eyes, does it not show that we can see without eyes? Can we not see in a dream without eyes? Therefore, the faculty of seeing and hearing is in us. But, as we always depend on the physical body, on the physical eyes and ears, we become helpless and subject to death. The teaching of immortality is to awaken. We must rise above the physical and material conditions if we are to live at all. We must aim at being independent of physical sight and hearing. We know that if we really want to understand a thing, we close our eyes because we can see it better. If we are thinking in this manner, it means that we are listening to some thought coming from some other plane. At such a time we want to cut off and stop outward sound or sight. All the meditations and concentrations of the mystics, as well as their dreams, are their journeys to the inner planes. It is necessary, if the soul has the desire to know the past, the present, and the future, to satisfy its desire by a contemplative life. The more tired and exhausted the mind, the more is meditation needed. Sages, such as St. Francis, have spoken with rocks, birds, and animals, not as we talk, but by means of an insight into things. And every object expressed itself to them, speaking to them about its past, its present, and its future. ... The seer will see all in his consciousness, and wherever he casts his glance, he will see still more clearly. Each leaf of a tree becomes a book of revelation to the one who sees. And he reads the whole of nature as a book.'

God-communication is the best communication that true spiritualism can teach us.

The most profound inspiration comes always from the divine mind, and to God alone the credit is due. Even if an inspiration comes through the mind of a person living on earth or through a soul who has passed on to the other side, it still has come from God, for all knowledge and wisdom belong to God.
It is a fault on the part of mankind to attribute inspiration to some limited being who is nothing but a shadow covering God. When a person believes that an old Egyptian comes from the other side to inspire him or that an American Indian comes to lead him on his way, he builds a wall between himself and God. Instead of receiving directly from the source that is perfect and all sufficient, he is picturing his limited idea, making it a screen between himself and God.

Six Steps For Getting the Most out of Mercury Retrograde
1. Slow down before you speak, especially if you are excited. This is one reason Mercury gains power when retrograde. We are usually babbling at the mouth without thinking. Now we can choose our words more carefully and all will benefit.
2. Journal. Write your thoughts down and be more introspective. This is another reason why the retrograde cycle is powerful. Internalizing ideas, and allowing them to gain strength can happen now.
3. Defragment your hard drive. Over consumption of information and clutter on you r computer can lead to problems.
4. Reflect on recent communication decisions. If you revisit them / the people involved - listen more than talk. There is valuable information that you can get at this time. This is a good time to learn better communication skills. Better to do it in the least painful way by also strngthing your listening skills.
5. Pay attention to your intuition. Mercury Retrograde has us kind of "thinking backwards" - we may get all the details before we even know what is happening.
6. Try to avoid entering into any NEW contractual agreements until after May 31. Ok, it is not so unique - but there is good reason for it. We (or someone else) may confuse the details and get us in all kinds of trouble later.

_____________________________________________

Fear of Transformation
Danaan Parry

Sometimes I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings. I'm either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along or, for a few moments in my life, I'm hurtling across space in between trapeze bars. I spend most of the time hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the- moment. It carries me along at a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I'm in control of my life. I know most of the right questions and even some of the right answers. But once in a while, as I'm merrily (or not so merrily) swinging along, I look ahead of me into the distance, and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me. It's empty, and I know, in that place that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it. It is my next step, my growth; my aliveness coming to get me. In my heart-of-hearts I know that for me to grow, I must release my grip on the present, well-known bar to move to the new one.

Each time it happens to me, I hope that I won't have to grab the new one. But in that knowing place I know I must totally release my grasp on the old bar, and for some moment in time hurtle across space before I can grab onto the new one. Each time, I am filled with terror. It doesn't matter that in all my previous hurtles across the void of unknowing, I have always made it. Each time I am afraid I will miss, that I will be crushed on the unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between the bars. But I do it anyway. Perhaps this is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience. No guarantees, no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow, to keep hanging onto that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives. And so for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the dark void of "the past is gone, the future is not yet here." It's called transition. I have come to believe that this is the place where real change occurs.

I have noticed that, in our culture, this transition zone is looked upon as a "no-thing", a no-place between places. Sure the old trapeze-bar was real, and that new one coming towards me, I hope that's real too. But the void in between? That's just a scary, confusing, disorienting "nowhere" that must be gotten through as fast and unconsciously as possible. What a waste! I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing, and the bars are illusions we dream up, to avoid where the real change, the real growth occurs for us. Whether or not my hunch is true, it remains that the transition zones in our lives are incredibly rich places. They should be honored, even savored. Yes, with all the pain and fear and feelings of being out-of-control that can (but not necessarily) accompany transitions, they are still the most alive, most growth-filled, passionate, expansive moments in our lives.

And so, transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away, but rather with giving ourselves permission to "hang-out" in the transition between trapeze bars. Transforming our need to grab that new bar, any bar, is allowing ourselves to dwell in the place where change happens. It can be terrifying. It can also be enlightening, in the true sense of the word. Hurtling through the void, we just may learn how to fly.

"It is impossible for man to look straight at the present, because he is too
terrified by it. We stand on the stern of the ship looking at the wake and
saying, 'We're in very troubled waters.'"

- Marshall McLuhan

I am That I am
I am all Understanding, not the understood.
the very life of divine wisdom.
I ignite the beauty of the plains, I sparkle the waters, I burn in the sun, and the moon, and the stars.
I am the divine power through which God decided and sanctioned the creation of all things.
I am the yearning for good.

~ Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

No man should allow his mind to be a vehicle for others to use; he who does not direct his own mind lacks mastery.

Our minds need to be dusted and swept just as much as our houses, and this we do by meditation and concentration, which wipe away all wrong impressions. We must be masters of our own minds as well as our houses, and not allow them to be like a furniture warehouse with all the furniture mixed up together. We must direct where everything is to be placed, so that complete order may reign therein.
The more the mind is allowed to go on without purpose, the more likely it is to become a vehicle or machine, which all manner of influences around it of other human beings or spirit obsessions will employ instead of its owner. If the user of that mind is a sensible person, then it may perhaps act properly, but otherwise the work of the mind is wasted. In any case it would not be a fulfillment of the purpose of his life. This purpose is to learn mastery, not to be a vehicle for others to use. He who does not direct his own mind lacks mastery. ...
Man is his mind, is the product of his mind, and is also the controller of the activity of mind. If he does not control his mind, he is not a master but a slave. It lies with his own mind whether he shall be master, or whether he shall be slave. He is slave when he neglects to be master; he is master if he cares to be master. ... A man with a perfectly stilled, comforted, and rested mind will at once raise up another who is going through distress, or restlessness, or pain, or ill-temper, or worry, or anxiety. The very presence of one whose mind is stilled gives such hope, such inspiration, such sympathy, such power and life. All the heavenly properties flow so smoothly and freely from the person whose mind is stilled that his words, his voice, his presence, all react upon the mind of others; and as he stills his mind, so his very presence becomes healing.

"Do not develop much attachment with others and get entangled through the silken bonds of friendship or iron chain of hatred. It is good and helpful to have an enemy, for they are ever eager to criticize you for your faults than a friend who will cast a blind eye on them. The enemy takes delight in abusing you, and as a consequence, he goes on diminishing and wiping off from your account the demerits you have to live out in misery. The person displaying enmity absorbs your sins and effects. Moreover, this person makes you alert not to give him any reason to point a finger of scorn at you. He is your censor, corrector and conscience. Be thankful to him who talks ill of you, for he is doing you very great service by examining your every act on the touchstone of morality, truth and righteousness." - Sathya Sai Baba

Kali Wendorf has found incontrovertible evidence that human beings are biologically ordained for love and connection – not violence, greed and fear; that love, empathy and compassion are hard-wired into an infant's brain by certain sensory inputs such as touch, smell, taste, movement and vision.
Full story on Resurgence.org

Once, in old Poland, a Jewish spiritual seeker burst into the study of Reb Yerachmiel ben Yisrael. "Rebbe," he said breathlessly, "what is the way to God?"
The Rebbe looked up from his studies and answered, "There is no way to God, for God is not other than here and now."
"Then, Rebbe, tell me the essence of God."
"There is no essence of God, for God is all and nothing."
"Then, Rebbe, tell me the secret that I might know that God is all."
"My friend," Reb Yerachmiel sighed, "there is no way, there is no essence, there is no secret. The truth you seek is not hidden from you. You are hiding from it."

-by Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro.

What is it like to live an awakened life?

While the world is trying to solve its problems and everyone around you is engaged in the same, you’re not. While everybody around you is trying to figure it out, trying to arrive, trying to “get there,” trying to be worthy, you’re not. While everyone thinks that awakening is a grand, noble, halo-enshrouded thing, for you it’s not. While everybody is running from this life right now, in this moment, to try to get there, you’re not. Where everybody has an argument with somebody else, mostly everybody else, starting with themselves, you don’t. Where everybody is so sure that happiness will come when something is different than it is now, you know that it won’t. When everybody else is looking to achieve the perfect state and hold on to it, you’re not.
When everybody around you has a whole host of ideas and beliefs about a whole variety of things, you don’t. Everyone on the path is getting there; you haven’t gotten anywhere. Everyone is climbing the mountain; you’re selling hiking boots and picks at the foot in the hope that if they climb it and come back down, they may be too exhausted to do it again. When everybody else is looking to the next book, to the next teacher, to the next guru to be told what’s real, to be given the secret key to an awakened life, you’re not. You don’t have a key because there’s not a lock to put it in.
When you’re living what you are in an awakened way, being simply what you’ve always been, you’re actually very simple. You basically sit around wondering what all the fuss is about.
When everyone is sitting around saying, “I hope that happens to me,” you remember when you did that. You remember that you didn’t find a solution to that. You remember that the whole idea that there was a problem created all of that.
When you’re being what you are, when you’re living the awakened life, there’s nobody to forgive, because there’s no resentment held, no matter what.
The truth of your being doesn’t crave happiness; it could actually care less. It doesn’t crave love, not because you are so full of love, but because it just doesn’t crave love. It’s very simple. It doesn’t seek to be known, regarded highly, or understood. When you’re living what you are in an awakened way, there’s no ideal for you anymore. You’ve stepped off the entire cycle of suffering, of becoming; you’re not interested.
It’s a curious life you find yourself in. You find yourself… where you are. Not where I am, where you are. Where you really are. Where we really are. It’s a curious place to be (especially in the beginning) not to be driven by anything — pleasure or displeasure, helping or hurting, loving or hating. The only thing that will move you (and I don’t mean to be too poetic about this) is the same thing that moves a leaf hanging from a tree. It’s simply because the breeze blows that way.
So you always know what to do: The breeze blows that way, and that’s the way you go. You don’t ask questions anymore. You don’t evaluate why the breeze is blowing that way because you know that you don’t know why. And you know you can’t know why. There’s never been a leaf anywhere that knows why the wind blows that way on that day at that moment. That breeze changes the orientation of your life, moment to moment to moment, simply because that’s the way life’s moving. And when you’re living in your awakened self you have no argument with the way it’s moving because it is the same as you are.
And you know that the breeze was always there, from the very beginning, and that it wasn’t reserved for special people. If you didn’t notice it at some point in your life, you know it was because you weren’t listening, or because you thought you had to figure something out before you could listen, or because you thought there had to be some conclusion before you could just listen so deeply, so without agenda, so without hope of a better future that you would feel the movement.


~ From the Awakened Living Intensive. Berkeley, CA. 2003 by Adyashanti

*The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom*
by Jonathan Haidt
http://tinyurl.com/dgo5yg
"Practical advice on finding happiness and meaning: Riches don't matter
much, but close relationships, quiet surroundings, and short commutes
help a lot, while meditation, cognitive psychotherapy and Prozac are
equally valid remedies for constitutional unhappiness."

Wingmakers Music & Art
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxhPwMNZpgY&feature=related

************
2) From Now on, Equality Needs to Be Our Organizing Principle
Hari: From Now on, Equality Needs to Be Our Organizing Principle
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/15-8

*****************
3) Financial net
Financial net
http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_Financial_Safety_Net_0.html

Mercury will be retrograde from May 7 – 31. Since Mercury is the planet of communication, language, information, the intellect, information processing and a host of other information-related areas, this is a good time to refrain from beginning new projects, signing agreements or contracts, or making major purchases. On the other hand, this is a good time for editing, perfecting, revisiting, fixing, or remodeling old projects, people, situations and conditions.

http://www.gentlerevolution.com/
They furnish the materials necessary to teach your baby to speak 6 languages, know mathematics, and understand geography by the time they are 3 years old. So you see it can be done by any parent who wants to do it. Parents can give their children a much greater life with this new education.

The planet is some kind of organized intelligence. It's very different from
us. It's had 5- or 6-billion years to create a slow moving mind that is
made of oceans, and rivers, and rainforests, and glaciers. It's becoming
aware of us, as we are becoming aware of it, strangely enough.

"Two less likely members of a relationship can hardly be imagined -- the
technological apes and the dreaming planet. And yet, because the life of
each depends on the other, [we have] a feeling towards this immense,
strange, wise, old, neutral, weird thing, and it is trying to figure out why
its dreams are so tormented and why everything is out of balance."
- Terence McKenna

The great teachers of humanity become streams of love.

-Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

the recitation of the thousand names of the divine mother will resume this next sunday, may 3rd, here at the Ompalace.
Kindly email for directions or check my wwwsite. By reservation only. No cost, just bring your Highest self...........we appreciate your efforts to assist in healing the Planet & bringing in the Divine Feminine energy . JAI MA!