~*~ Journey Through The Light & Back {A Near Death Experience} ~*~


This is a genuine near death experience I found.
There's a lot of wizdom and insight here. And HOPE!

~*~ PsYcHeDeLiC MaGicKaL HuMMiNgBiRd ~*~



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
====================================================



Near-Death Experience NDE Story
of Mellen-Thomas Benedict
Journey Through the Light and Back

In 1982 I died from terminal cancer. The condition I had was
inoperable, and any kind of chemotherapy they could give me would
just have made me more of a vegetable. I was given six to eight
months to live.

I had been an information freak in the 1970's, and I had become
increasingly despondent over the nuclear crisis, the ecology crisis,
and so forth. So, since I did not have a spiritual basis, I began to
believe that nature had made a mistake, and that we were probably a
cancerous organism on the planet. I saw no way that we could get out
from all the problems we had created for ourselves and the planet. I
perceived all humans as cancer, and that is what I got.

That is what killed me. Be careful what your world view is. It can
feed back on you, especially if it is a negative world view. I had a
seriously negative one. That is what led me into my death. I tried
all sorts of alternative healing methods, but nothing helped.

So I determined that this was really just between me and God
{Source~Deity}. I had never really faced God before, or even dealt
with God. I was not into any kind of spirituality at the time, but I
began a journey into learning about spirituality and alterna¬tive
healing. I set out to do all the reading I could and bone up on the
subject, because I did not want to be surprised on the other side. So
I started reading on various religions and philosophies. They were
all very interesting, and gave hope that there was something on the
other side. I ended up in hospice care.

I remember waking up one morning at home about 4:30 AM, and I just
knew that this was it.

This was the day I was going to die. So I called a few friends and
said goodbye. I woke up my hospice caretaker and told her. I had a
private agreement with her that she would leave my dead body alone
for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things
happen when you die. I went back to sleep.

The next thing I remember is the beginning of a typical near-death
experience. Suddenly I was fully aware and I was standing up, but my
body was in the bed. There was this darkness around me. Being out of
my body was even more vivid than ordinary experience. It was so vivid
that I could see every room in the house, I could see the top of the
house, I could see around the house, I could see under the house.

There was this Light shining. I turned toward the Light. The Light
was very similar to what many other people have described in their
near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you
can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want
to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.

As I began to move toward the Light, I knew intuitively that if I
went to the Light, I would be dead. So as I was moving toward the
Light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I
want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go."
To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are
in control of your life after death experience. You are not on a
roller coaster ride.

So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the
Light. The Light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus,
Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs. I asked the
Light, "What is going on here? Please, Light, clarify yourself for
me. I really want to know the reality of the situation." I cannot
really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy.

The Light responded. The information transferred to me was that
during your life after death experience your beliefs shape the kind
of feedback you are getting before the Light. If you were a Buddhist
or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own
stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most
people do not. As the Light revealed itself to me, I became aware
that what I was really seeing was our higher Self matrix.

We all have a higher Self, or an oversoul part of our being. It
revealed itself to me in its truest energy form. The only way I can
really describe it is that the being of the higher Self is more like
a conduit. It did not look like that, but it is a direct connection
to the Source that each and every one of us has. We are directly
connected to the Source. So the Light was showing me the higher Self
matrix. I was not committed to one particular religion. So that is
what was being fed back to me during my life after death experience.

As I asked the Light to keep clearing for me, to keep explaining, I
understood what the higher Self matrix is. We have a grid around the
planet where all the higher Selves are connected.

This is like a great company, a next subtle level of energy around
us, the spirit level, you might say. Then, after a couple of minutes,
I asked for more clarification. I really wanted to know what the
universe is about, and I was ready to go at that time. I said "I am
ready, take me."

Then the Light turned into the most beautiful thing that I have ever
seen: a mandala of human souls on this planet. Now I came to this
with my negative view of what was happening on the planet. So as I
asked the Light to keep clarifying for me, I saw in this magnificent
mandala how beautiful we all are in our essence, our core. We are the
most beautiful creations.

The human soul, the human matrix that we all make together is
absolutely fantastic, elegant, exotic, everything. I just cannot say
enough about how it changed my opinion of human beings in that
instant. I said, "Oh, God, I did not know how beautiful we are." At
any level, high or low, in whatever shape you are in, you are the
most beautiful creation, you are.

The revelations coming from the Light and seemed to go on and on,
then I asked the Light, "Does this mean that Humankind will be saved?"
Then, like a trumpet blast with a shower of spiraling lights, the
Great Light spoke, saying, "Remember this and never forget; you save,
redeem and heal yourself. You always have. You always will. You were
created with the power to do so from before the beginning of the
world. All Creatures ~ All LIFE Is My Immortal SPIRIT SELF."

In that instant I realized even more. I realized that WE HAVE ALREADY
BEEN SAVED, and we saved ourselves because we were designed to self-
correct like the rest of God's universe. This is what the second
coming is about. I thanked the Light of God with all my heart. The
best thing I could come up with was these simple words of total
appreciation: "Oh dear God, dear Universe, dear Great Self, I Love
My Life."

The Light seemed to breathe me in even more deeply. It was as if the
Light was completely absorbing me. The Love Light is, to this day,
indescribable. I entered into another realm, more profound than the
last, and became aware of something more, much more. It was an
enormous stream of Light, vast and full, deep in the Heart of Life.
I asked what this was.

The Light responded, "This is the RIVER OF LIFE. Drink of this manna
water to your heart's content." So I did. I took one big drink and
then another. To drink of Life Itself! I was in ecstasy.

Then the Light said, "You have a desire." The Light knew all about
me, everything past, present and future. "Yes!" I whispered.

I asked to see the rest of the Universe; beyond our solar system,
beyond all human illusion. The Light then told me that I could go
with the Stream. I did, and was carried Through the Light at the End
of the Tunnel. I felt and heard a series of very soft sonic booms.
What a rush!

Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream
of Life. I saw the earth fly away. The solar system, in all its
splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light speed, I
flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I
went. I learned that this galaxy, and all of the Universe, is
bursting with many different varieties of LIFE. I saw many worlds.
The good news is that we are not alone in this Universe!

As I rode this stream of consciousness through the center of the
galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of energy.
The super clusters of galaxies with all their ancient wisdom flew by.
At first I thought I was going somewhere; actually traveling. But
then I realized that, as the stream was expanding, my own
consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the
Universe! All creation passed by me. It was an unimaginable wonder! I
truly was a Wonder Child; a babe in Wonderland!

At this point, I found myself in a profound stillness, beyond all
silence. I could see or perceive FOREVER, beyond Infinity.

I was in the Void.

I was in pre-creation, before the Big Bang. I had crossed over the
beginning of time/the First Word/the First vibration. I was in the
Eye of Creation. I felt as if I was touching the Face of God. It was
not a religious feeling. Simply I was at one with Absolute Life and
Consciousness.

When I say that I could see or perceive forever, I mean that I could
experience all of creation generating itself. It was without
beginning and without end. That's a mind expanding thought, isn't it?

Scientists perceive the Big Bang as a single event which created the
Universe. I saw during my life after death experience that the Big
Bang is only one of an infinite number of Big Bangs creating
Universes endlessly and simultaneously. The only images that even
come close in human terms would be those created by super computers
using fractal geometry equations.

The ancients knew of this. They said God had periodically created new
Universes by breathing out, and recreated other Universes by
breathing in. These epochs were called Yugas. Modern science called
this the Big Bang. I was in absolute, pure consciousness. I could see
or perceive all the Big Bangs or Yugas creating and recreating
themselves. Instantly I entered into them all simultaneously. I saw
that each and every little piece of creation has the power to create.
It is very difficult to try to explain this. I am still speechless
about this.

It took me years after I returned from my near-death experience to
assimilate any words at all for the Void experience. I can tell you
this now: the Void is less than nothing, yet more than everything
that is! The Void is absolute zero; chaos forming all possibilities.
It is Absolute Consciousness; much more than even Universal
Intelligence.

The Void is the vacuum or nothingness between all physical
manifestations. The SPACE between atoms and their components. Modern
science has begun to study this space between everything. They call
it Zero point. Whenever they try to measure it, their instruments go
off the scale, or to infinity, so to speak. They have no way, as of
yet, to measure infinity accurately. There is more of the 0 space in
your own body and the Universe than anything else!

What mystics call the Void is not a void. It is so full of energy, a
different kind of energy that has created everything that we are.
Everything since the Big Bang is vibration, from the first Word,
which is the first vibration. The biblical "I am" really has a
question mark after it. "I am—What am I?" So creation is God
exploring God's Self through every way imaginable, in an on-going,
infinite exploration through every one of us. I began to see during
my near-death experience that everything that is, is the Self,
literally, your Self, my Self. Everything is the great Self. That is
why God knows even when a leaf falls. That is possible because
wherever you are is the center of the universe. Wherever any atom is,
that is the center of the universe. There is God in that, and God in
the Void.

As I was exploring the Void during my life after death experience and
all the Yugas or creations, I was completely out of time and space as
we know it. In this expanded state, I discovered that creation is
about Absolute Pure Consciousness, or God, coming into the Experience
of Life as we know it. The Void itself is devoid of experience. It is
pre life, before the first vibration. Godhead is about more than Life
and Death. Therefore there is even more than Life and Death to
experience in the Universe!

When I realized this I was finished with the Void, and wanted to
return to this creation, or Yuga. It just seemed like the natural
thing to do. Then I suddenly came back through the second Light, or
the Big Bang, hearing several more velvet booms. I rode the stream of
consciousness back through all of creation, and what a ride it was!
The super clusters of galaxies came through me with even more
insights. I passed through the center of our galaxy, which is a black
hole. Black holes are the great processors or recyclers of the
Universe.

Do you know what is on the other side of a Black Hole? We are; our
galaxy, which has been reprocessed from another Universe. In its
total energy configuration, the galaxy looked like a fantastic city
of lights. All energy this side of the Big Bang is light. Every sub
atom, atom, star, planet, even consciousness itself is made of light
and has a frequency and/or particle. Light is living stuff.
Everything is made of light, even stones. So everything is alive.
Everything is made from the Light of God; everything is very
intelligent.

As I rode the stream on and on, I could eventually see a huge Light
coming. I knew it was the First Light; the higher Self Light Matrix
of our solar system. Then the entire solar system appeared in the
Light, accompanied by one of those velvet booms.

I could see all the energy that this solar system generates, and it
is an incredible light show! I could hear the Music of the Spheres.
Our solar system, as do all celestial bodies, generates a unique
matrix of light, sound and vibratory energies. Advanced civilizations
from other star systems can spot life as we know it in the universe
by the vibratory or energy matrix imprint. It is child's play. The
earth's Wonder child (human beings) make an abundance of sound right
now, like children playing in the backyard of the universe.

The Light explained to me that there is no death; we are immortal
beings. We have already been alive forever! I realized that we are
part of a natural living system that recycles itself endlessly. I was
never told that I had to come back. I just knew that I would. It was
only natural, from what I had seen during my life after death
experience.

I don't know how long I was with the Light, in human time. But there
came a moment when I realized that all my questions had been answered
and my return was near. When I say that all my questions were
answered on the other side, I mean to say just that. All my questions
have been answered. Every human has a different life and set of
questions to explore. Some of our questions are Universal, but each
of us is exploring this thing we call Life in our own unique way. So
is every other form of life, from mountains to every leaf on every
tree.

And that is very important to the rest of us in this Universe.
Because it all contributes to the Big Picture, the fullness of Life.
We are literally God exploring God's self in an infinite Dance of
Life. Your uniqueness enhances all of Life.

As I began my return to the life cycle, it never crossed my mind, nor
was I told that I would return to the same body. It just did not
matter. I had complete trust in the Light and the Life process. As
the stream merged with the great Light, I asked never to forget the
revelations and the feelings of what I had learned on the other side.

There was a "Yes." It felt like a kiss to my soul.

Then I was taken back through the Light into the vibratory realm
again. The whole process reversed, with even more information being
given to me. I came back home, and I was given lessons from my near-
death experience on the mechanics of reincarnation. I was given
answers to all those little questions I had: "How does this work? How
does that work?" I knew that I would be reincarnated.

The earth is a great processor of energy, and individual
consciousness evolves out of that into each one of us. I thought of
myself as a human for the first time, and I was happy to be that.
From what I have seen, I would be happy to be an atom in this
universe. An atom. So to be the human part of God... this is the most
fantastic blessing. It is a blessing beyond our wildest estimation of
what blessing can be. For each and every one of us to be the human
part of this experience is awesome, and magnificent. Each and every
one of us, no matter where we are, screwed up or not, is a blessing
to the planet, right where we are.

I went through the reincarnation process expecting to be a baby
somewhere. But I was given a lesson on how individual identity and
consciousness evolve. I was so surprised when I opened my eyes. I do
not know why, because I understood it, but it was still such a
surprise to be back in this body, back in my room with someone
looking over me crying her eyes out. It was my hospice caretaker. She
had given up an hour and a half after finding me dead. My body was
stiff and inflexible. She went into the other room. Then I awakened
and saw the light outside. I tried to get up to go to it, but I fell
out of the bed. She heard a loud "clunk," ran in and found me on the
floor.

When I recovered, I was very surprised and yet very awed about what
had happened to me during my near-death experience. At first all the
memory of the trip that I have now was not there. I kept slipping out
of this world and kept asking, "Am I alive?" This world seemed more
like a dream than that one. Within three days I was feeling normal
again, clearer, yet different than I had ever felt in my life. My
memory of my near-death experience came back later. I could see
nothing wrong with any human being I had ever seen. Before that I was
really judgmental. I thought a lot of people were really screwed up,
in fact I thought that everybody was screwed up but me. But I got
clear on all that.

About three months later a friend said I should get tested, so I went
and got the scans and so forth. I really felt good, so I was afraid
of getting bad news. I remember the doctor at the clinic looking at
the before and after scans, saying, "Well, there is nothing here
now." I said, "Really, it must be a miracle"' He said "No, these
things happen; they are called spontaneous remission." He acted very
unimpressed. But here was a miracle, and I was impressed, even if no
one else was.

During my near-death experience I had a descent into what you might
call Hell, and it was very surprising. I did not see Satan or evil.
My descent into Hell was a descent into each person's customized
human misery, ignorance, and darkness of not knowing. It seemed like
a miserable eternity. But each of the millions of souls around me had
a little star of light always available. But no one seemed to pay
attention to it. They were so consumed with their own grief, trauma
and misery. But, after what seemed an eternity, I started calling out
to that Light, like a child calling to a parent for help.

Then the Light opened up and formed a tunnel that came right to me
and insulated me from all that fear and pain, That is what Hell
really is. So what we are doing is learning to hold hands, to come
together. The doors of Hell are open now. We are going to link up,
hold hands, and walk out of Hell together. The Light came to me and
turned into a huge golden angel. I said, "Are you the angel of
death?" It expressed to me that it was my oversoul, my higher Self
matrix, a super ancient part of ourselves. Then I was taken to the
Light.

Soon our science will quantify spirit. Isn't that going to be
wonderful? We are coming up with devices now that are sensitive to
subtle energy or spirit energy. Physicists use these atomic colliders
to smash atoms to see what they are made of. They have got it down to
quarks and charm, and all that. Well, one day they are going to come
down to the little thing that holds it all together, and they are
going to have to call that ... God. We are just beginning to
understand that we are creating too, as we go along. As I saw
forever, I came to a realm during my near-death experience in which
there is a point where we pass all knowledge and begin creating the
next fractal, the next level. We have that power to create as we
explore. And that is God expanding itself through us.

Since my return I have experienced the Light spontaneously, and I
have learned how to get to that space almost any time in my
meditation. Each one of you can do this. You do not have to die or
have a near-death experience to do this. It is within your equipment;
you are wired for it already. The body is the most magnificent Light
being there is. The body is a universe of incredible Light. Spirit is
not pushing us to dissolve this body. That is not what is happening.
Stop trying to become God {Source}; God {Source} is becoming you.
Here.

I asked God: "What is the best religion on the planet? Which one is
right?" And Godhead said, with great love: "I don't care." That was
incredible grace. When Godhead said, "I don't care," I immediately
understood that it is for us to care about. It is important, because
we are the caring beings. It matters to us and that is where it is
important. What you have is the energy equation in spirituality.
Ultimate Godhead {Source} does not care if you are Protestant,
Buddhist, orwhatever. It is all a blooming facet of the whole. I wish
that all religions would realize it and let each other be. It is not
the end of each religion, but we are talking about the same God. Live
and let live. Each has a different view. And it all adds up to the
big picture; it is all important.

I went over to the other side during my near-death experience with a
lot of fears about toxic waste, nuclear missiles, the population
explosion, the rainforest. I came back loving every single problem. I
love nuclear waste. I love the mushroom cloud; this is the holiest
mandala that we have manifested to date, as an archetype. It, more
than any religion or philosophy on earth, brought us together all of
a sudden, to a new level of consciousness. Knowing that maybe we can
blow up the planet fifty times, or 500 times, we finally realize that
maybe we are all here together now.

For a period they had to keep setting off more bombs to get it in to
us. Then we started saying, "we do not need this any more." Now we
are actually in a safer world than we have ever been in, and it is
going to get safer. So I came back from my near-death experience
loving toxic waste, because it brought us together. These things are
so big. As Peter Russell might say, these problems are now "soul
size." Do we have soul size answers" YES!

The clearing of the rain forest will slow down, and in fifty years
there will be more trees on the planet than in a long time. If you
are into ecology, go for it; you are that part of the system that is
becoming aware. Go for it with all your might, but do not be
depressed. It is part of a larger thing.

Earth is in the process of renewing itself. Gaia will again be purely
pristine and as wild green a place as it once was. There will be
great wild places and reserves where nature thrives. Organic
gardening and reserves will be the thing in the future. Population
increase is getting very close to the optimal range of energy to
cause a shift in consciousness. That shift in consciousness will
transform and uplift and purify politics, money, energy, everything.
Actually all forms of money will be unnecessary. Every good and
necessary thing for organic wholistic organic living will be
available free to all beings.

After dying, going through my near-death experience and coming back,
I really respect life and death. In our DNA experiments we may have
opened the door to a great secret. Soon we will be able to live as
long as we want to live in this body.

After living 150 years or so, there will be an intuitive soul sense
that you will want to change channels. Living forever in one body is
not as creative as reincarnation, as transferring energy in this
fantastic vortex of energy that we are in. We are actually going to
see the wisdom of life and death, and enjoy it. As it is now, we have
already been alive forever.

This body, that you are in, has been alive forever. It comes from an
unending stream of life, going back to the Big Bang and beyond.

This body gives life to the next life, in dense and subtle energy.

This body has been alive forever already.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~ Blessed Be! ~*~


~*~ PsYcHeDeLiC MaGicKaL HuMMiNgBiRd )O( ~*~


http://YouTube.Com/MagickalHummingbird

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GoddessOfRealmsAndCreatures

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~ Journey Through The Light & Back {A Near Death Experience} ~*~


This is a genuine near death experience I found.
There's a lot of wizdom and insight here. And HOPE!

~*~ PsYcHeDeLiC MaGicKaL HuMMiNgBiRd ~*~



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
====================================================



Near-Death Experience NDE Story
of Mellen-Thomas Benedict
Journey Through the Light and Back

In 1982 I died from terminal cancer. The condition I had was
inoperable, and any kind of chemotherapy they could give me would
just have made me more of a vegetable. I was given six to eight
months to live.

I had been an information freak in the 1970's, and I had become
increasingly despondent over the nuclear crisis, the ecology crisis,
and so forth. So, since I did not have a spiritual basis, I began to
believe that nature had made a mistake, and that we were probably a
cancerous organism on the planet. I saw no way that we could get out
from all the problems we had created for ourselves and the planet. I
perceived all humans as cancer, and that is what I got.

That is what killed me. Be careful what your world view is. It can
feed back on you, especially if it is a negative world view. I had a
seriously negative one. That is what led me into my death. I tried
all sorts of alternative healing methods, but nothing helped.

So I determined that this was really just between me and God
{Source~Deity}. I had never really faced God before, or even dealt
with God. I was not into any kind of spirituality at the time, but I
began a journey into learning about spirituality and alterna¬tive
healing. I set out to do all the reading I could and bone up on the
subject, because I did not want to be surprised on the other side. So
I started reading on various religions and philosophies. They were
all very interesting, and gave hope that there was something on the
other side. I ended up in hospice care.

I remember waking up one morning at home about 4:30 AM, and I just
knew that this was it.

This was the day I was going to die. So I called a few friends and
said goodbye. I woke up my hospice caretaker and told her. I had a
private agreement with her that she would leave my dead body alone
for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things
happen when you die. I went back to sleep.

The next thing I remember is the beginning of a typical near-death
experience. Suddenly I was fully aware and I was standing up, but my
body was in the bed. There was this darkness around me. Being out of
my body was even more vivid than ordinary experience. It was so vivid
that I could see every room in the house, I could see the top of the
house, I could see around the house, I could see under the house.

There was this Light shining. I turned toward the Light. The Light
was very similar to what many other people have described in their
near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you
can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want
to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.

As I began to move toward the Light, I knew intuitively that if I
went to the Light, I would be dead. So as I was moving toward the
Light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I
want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go."
To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are
in control of your life after death experience. You are not on a
roller coaster ride.

So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the
Light. The Light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus,
Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs. I asked the
Light, "What is going on here? Please, Light, clarify yourself for
me. I really want to know the reality of the situation." I cannot
really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy.

The Light responded. The information transferred to me was that
during your life after death experience your beliefs shape the kind
of feedback you are getting before the Light. If you were a Buddhist
or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own
stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most
people do not. As the Light revealed itself to me, I became aware
that what I was really seeing was our higher Self matrix.

We all have a higher Self, or an oversoul part of our being. It
revealed itself to me in its truest energy form. The only way I can
really describe it is that the being of the higher Self is more like
a conduit. It did not look like that, but it is a direct connection
to the Source that each and every one of us has. We are directly
connected to the Source. So the Light was showing me the higher Self
matrix. I was not committed to one particular religion. So that is
what was being fed back to me during my life after death experience.

As I asked the Light to keep clearing for me, to keep explaining, I
understood what the higher Self matrix is. We have a grid around the
planet where all the higher Selves are connected.

This is like a great company, a next subtle level of energy around
us, the spirit level, you might say. Then, after a couple of minutes,
I asked for more clarification. I really wanted to know what the
universe is about, and I was ready to go at that time. I said "I am
ready, take me."

Then the Light turned into the most beautiful thing that I have ever
seen: a mandala of human souls on this planet. Now I came to this
with my negative view of what was happening on the planet. So as I
asked the Light to keep clarifying for me, I saw in this magnificent
mandala how beautiful we all are in our essence, our core. We are the
most beautiful creations.

The human soul, the human matrix that we all make together is
absolutely fantastic, elegant, exotic, everything. I just cannot say
enough about how it changed my opinion of human beings in that
instant. I said, "Oh, God, I did not know how beautiful we are." At
any level, high or low, in whatever shape you are in, you are the
most beautiful creation, you are.

The revelations coming from the Light and seemed to go on and on,
then I asked the Light, "Does this mean that Humankind will be saved?"
Then, like a trumpet blast with a shower of spiraling lights, the
Great Light spoke, saying, "Remember this and never forget; you save,
redeem and heal yourself. You always have. You always will. You were
created with the power to do so from before the beginning of the
world. All Creatures ~ All LIFE Is My Immortal SPIRIT SELF."

In that instant I realized even more. I realized that WE HAVE ALREADY
BEEN SAVED, and we saved ourselves because we were designed to self-
correct like the rest of God's universe. This is what the second
coming is about. I thanked the Light of God with all my heart. The
best thing I could come up with was these simple words of total
appreciation: "Oh dear God, dear Universe, dear Great Self, I Love
My Life."

The Light seemed to breathe me in even more deeply. It was as if the
Light was completely absorbing me. The Love Light is, to this day,
indescribable. I entered into another realm, more profound than the
last, and became aware of something more, much more. It was an
enormous stream of Light, vast and full, deep in the Heart of Life.
I asked what this was.

The Light responded, "This is the RIVER OF LIFE. Drink of this manna
water to your heart's content." So I did. I took one big drink and
then another. To drink of Life Itself! I was in ecstasy.

Then the Light said, "You have a desire." The Light knew all about
me, everything past, present and future. "Yes!" I whispered.

I asked to see the rest of the Universe; beyond our solar system,
beyond all human illusion. The Light then told me that I could go
with the Stream. I did, and was carried Through the Light at the End
of the Tunnel. I felt and heard a series of very soft sonic booms.
What a rush!

Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream
of Life. I saw the earth fly away. The solar system, in all its
splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light speed, I
flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I
went. I learned that this galaxy, and all of the Universe, is
bursting with many different varieties of LIFE. I saw many worlds.
The good news is that we are not alone in this Universe!

As I rode this stream of consciousness through the center of the
galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of energy.
The super clusters of galaxies with all their ancient wisdom flew by.
At first I thought I was going somewhere; actually traveling. But
then I realized that, as the stream was expanding, my own
consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the
Universe! All creation passed by me. It was an unimaginable wonder! I
truly was a Wonder Child; a babe in Wonderland!

At this point, I found myself in a profound stillness, beyond all
silence. I could see or perceive FOREVER, beyond Infinity.

I was in the Void.

I was in pre-creation, before the Big Bang. I had crossed over the
beginning of time/the First Word/the First vibration. I was in the
Eye of Creation. I felt as if I was touching the Face of God. It was
not a religious feeling. Simply I was at one with Absolute Life and
Consciousness.

When I say that I could see or perceive forever, I mean that I could
experience all of creation generating itself. It was without
beginning and without end. That's a mind expanding thought, isn't it?

Scientists perceive the Big Bang as a single event which created the
Universe. I saw during my life after death experience that the Big
Bang is only one of an infinite number of Big Bangs creating
Universes endlessly and simultaneously. The only images that even
come close in human terms would be those created by super computers
using fractal geometry equations.

The ancients knew of this. They said God had periodically created new
Universes by breathing out, and recreated other Universes by
breathing in. These epochs were called Yugas. Modern science called
this the Big Bang. I was in absolute, pure consciousness. I could see
or perceive all the Big Bangs or Yugas creating and recreating
themselves. Instantly I entered into them all simultaneously. I saw
that each and every little piece of creation has the power to create.
It is very difficult to try to explain this. I am still speechless
about this.

It took me years after I returned from my near-death experience to
assimilate any words at all for the Void experience. I can tell you
this now: the Void is less than nothing, yet more than everything
that is! The Void is absolute zero; chaos forming all possibilities.
It is Absolute Consciousness; much more than even Universal
Intelligence.

The Void is the vacuum or nothingness between all physical
manifestations. The SPACE between atoms and their components. Modern
science has begun to study this space between everything. They call
it Zero point. Whenever they try to measure it, their instruments go
off the scale, or to infinity, so to speak. They have no way, as of
yet, to measure infinity accurately. There is more of the 0 space in
your own body and the Universe than anything else!

What mystics call the Void is not a void. It is so full of energy, a
different kind of energy that has created everything that we are.
Everything since the Big Bang is vibration, from the first Word,
which is the first vibration. The biblical "I am" really has a
question mark after it. "I am—What am I?" So creation is God
exploring God's Self through every way imaginable, in an on-going,
infinite exploration through every one of us. I began to see during
my near-death experience that everything that is, is the Self,
literally, your Self, my Self. Everything is the great Self. That is
why God knows even when a leaf falls. That is possible because
wherever you are is the center of the universe. Wherever any atom is,
that is the center of the universe. There is God in that, and God in
the Void.

As I was exploring the Void during my life after death experience and
all the Yugas or creations, I was completely out of time and space as
we know it. In this expanded state, I discovered that creation is
about Absolute Pure Consciousness, or God, coming into the Experience
of Life as we know it. The Void itself is devoid of experience. It is
pre life, before the first vibration. Godhead is about more than Life
and Death. Therefore there is even more than Life and Death to
experience in the Universe!

When I realized this I was finished with the Void, and wanted to
return to this creation, or Yuga. It just seemed like the natural
thing to do. Then I suddenly came back through the second Light, or
the Big Bang, hearing several more velvet booms. I rode the stream of
consciousness back through all of creation, and what a ride it was!
The super clusters of galaxies came through me with even more
insights. I passed through the center of our galaxy, which is a black
hole. Black holes are the great processors or recyclers of the
Universe.

Do you know what is on the other side of a Black Hole? We are; our
galaxy, which has been reprocessed from another Universe. In its
total energy configuration, the galaxy looked like a fantastic city
of lights. All energy this side of the Big Bang is light. Every sub
atom, atom, star, planet, even consciousness itself is made of light
and has a frequency and/or particle. Light is living stuff.
Everything is made of light, even stones. So everything is alive.
Everything is made from the Light of God; everything is very
intelligent.

As I rode the stream on and on, I could eventually see a huge Light
coming. I knew it was the First Light; the higher Self Light Matrix
of our solar system. Then the entire solar system appeared in the
Light, accompanied by one of those velvet booms.

I could see all the energy that this solar system generates, and it
is an incredible light show! I could hear the Music of the Spheres.
Our solar system, as do all celestial bodies, generates a unique
matrix of light, sound and vibratory energies. Advanced civilizations
from other star systems can spot life as we know it in the universe
by the vibratory or energy matrix imprint. It is child's play. The
earth's Wonder child (human beings) make an abundance of sound right
now, like children playing in the backyard of the universe.

The Light explained to me that there is no death; we are immortal
beings. We have already been alive forever! I realized that we are
part of a natural living system that recycles itself endlessly. I was
never told that I had to come back. I just knew that I would. It was
only natural, from what I had seen during my life after death
experience.

I don't know how long I was with the Light, in human time. But there
came a moment when I realized that all my questions had been answered
and my return was near. When I say that all my questions were
answered on the other side, I mean to say just that. All my questions
have been answered. Every human has a different life and set of
questions to explore. Some of our questions are Universal, but each
of us is exploring this thing we call Life in our own unique way. So
is every other form of life, from mountains to every leaf on every
tree.

And that is very important to the rest of us in this Universe.
Because it all contributes to the Big Picture, the fullness of Life.
We are literally God exploring God's self in an infinite Dance of
Life. Your uniqueness enhances all of Life.

As I began my return to the life cycle, it never crossed my mind, nor
was I told that I would return to the same body. It just did not
matter. I had complete trust in the Light and the Life process. As
the stream merged with the great Light, I asked never to forget the
revelations and the feelings of what I had learned on the other side.

There was a "Yes." It felt like a kiss to my soul.

Then I was taken back through the Light into the vibratory realm
again. The whole process reversed, with even more information being
given to me. I came back home, and I was given lessons from my near-
death experience on the mechanics of reincarnation. I was given
answers to all those little questions I had: "How does this work? How
does that work?" I knew that I would be reincarnated.

The earth is a great processor of energy, and individual
consciousness evolves out of that into each one of us. I thought of
myself as a human for the first time, and I was happy to be that.
From what I have seen, I would be happy to be an atom in this
universe. An atom. So to be the human part of God... this is the most
fantastic blessing. It is a blessing beyond our wildest estimation of
what blessing can be. For each and every one of us to be the human
part of this experience is awesome, and magnificent. Each and every
one of us, no matter where we are, screwed up or not, is a blessing
to the planet, right where we are.

I went through the reincarnation process expecting to be a baby
somewhere. But I was given a lesson on how individual identity and
consciousness evolve. I was so surprised when I opened my eyes. I do
not know why, because I understood it, but it was still such a
surprise to be back in this body, back in my room with someone
looking over me crying her eyes out. It was my hospice caretaker. She
had given up an hour and a half after finding me dead. My body was
stiff and inflexible. She went into the other room. Then I awakened
and saw the light outside. I tried to get up to go to it, but I fell
out of the bed. She heard a loud "clunk," ran in and found me on the
floor.

When I recovered, I was very surprised and yet very awed about what
had happened to me during my near-death experience. At first all the
memory of the trip that I have now was not there. I kept slipping out
of this world and kept asking, "Am I alive?" This world seemed more
like a dream than that one. Within three days I was feeling normal
again, clearer, yet different than I had ever felt in my life. My
memory of my near-death experience came back later. I could see
nothing wrong with any human being I had ever seen. Before that I was
really judgmental. I thought a lot of people were really screwed up,
in fact I thought that everybody was screwed up but me. But I got
clear on all that.

About three months later a friend said I should get tested, so I went
and got the scans and so forth. I really felt good, so I was afraid
of getting bad news. I remember the doctor at the clinic looking at
the before and after scans, saying, "Well, there is nothing here
now." I said, "Really, it must be a miracle"' He said "No, these
things happen; they are called spontaneous remission." He acted very
unimpressed. But here was a miracle, and I was impressed, even if no
one else was.

During my near-death experience I had a descent into what you might
call Hell, and it was very surprising. I did not see Satan or evil.
My descent into Hell was a descent into each person's customized
human misery, ignorance, and darkness of not knowing. It seemed like
a miserable eternity. But each of the millions of souls around me had
a little star of light always available. But no one seemed to pay
attention to it. They were so consumed with their own grief, trauma
and misery. But, after what seemed an eternity, I started calling out
to that Light, like a child calling to a parent for help.

Then the Light opened up and formed a tunnel that came right to me
and insulated me from all that fear and pain, That is what Hell
really is. So what we are doing is learning to hold hands, to come
together. The doors of Hell are open now. We are going to link up,
hold hands, and walk out of Hell together. The Light came to me and
turned into a huge golden angel. I said, "Are you the angel of
death?" It expressed to me that it was my oversoul, my higher Self
matrix, a super ancient part of ourselves. Then I was taken to the
Light.

Soon our science will quantify spirit. Isn't that going to be
wonderful? We are coming up with devices now that are sensitive to
subtle energy or spirit energy. Physicists use these atomic colliders
to smash atoms to see what they are made of. They have got it down to
quarks and charm, and all that. Well, one day they are going to come
down to the little thing that holds it all together, and they are
going to have to call that ... God. We are just beginning to
understand that we are creating too, as we go along. As I saw
forever, I came to a realm during my near-death experience in which
there is a point where we pass all knowledge and begin creating the
next fractal, the next level. We have that power to create as we
explore. And that is God expanding itself through us.

Since my return I have experienced the Light spontaneously, and I
have learned how to get to that space almost any time in my
meditation. Each one of you can do this. You do not have to die or
have a near-death experience to do this. It is within your equipment;
you are wired for it already. The body is the most magnificent Light
being there is. The body is a universe of incredible Light. Spirit is
not pushing us to dissolve this body. That is not what is happening.
Stop trying to become God {Source}; God {Source} is becoming you.
Here.

I asked God: "What is the best religion on the planet? Which one is
right?" And Godhead said, with great love: "I don't care." That was
incredible grace. When Godhead said, "I don't care," I immediately
understood that it is for us to care about. It is important, because
we are the caring beings. It matters to us and that is where it is
important. What you have is the energy equation in spirituality.
Ultimate Godhead {Source} does not care if you are Protestant,
Buddhist, orwhatever. It is all a blooming facet of the whole. I wish
that all religions would realize it and let each other be. It is not
the end of each religion, but we are talking about the same God. Live
and let live. Each has a different view. And it all adds up to the
big picture; it is all important.

I went over to the other side during my near-death experience with a
lot of fears about toxic waste, nuclear missiles, the population
explosion, the rainforest. I came back loving every single problem. I
love nuclear waste. I love the mushroom cloud; this is the holiest
mandala that we have manifested to date, as an archetype. It, more
than any religion or philosophy on earth, brought us together all of
a sudden, to a new level of consciousness. Knowing that maybe we can
blow up the planet fifty times, or 500 times, we finally realize that
maybe we are all here together now.

For a period they had to keep setting off more bombs to get it in to
us. Then we started saying, "we do not need this any more." Now we
are actually in a safer world than we have ever been in, and it is
going to get safer. So I came back from my near-death experience
loving toxic waste, because it brought us together. These things are
so big. As Peter Russell might say, these problems are now "soul
size." Do we have soul size answers" YES!

The clearing of the rain forest will slow down, and in fifty years
there will be more trees on the planet than in a long time. If you
are into ecology, go for it; you are that part of the system that is
becoming aware. Go for it with all your might, but do not be
depressed. It is part of a larger thing.

Earth is in the process of renewing itself. Gaia will again be purely
pristine and as wild green a place as it once was. There will be
great wild places and reserves where nature thrives. Organic
gardening and reserves will be the thing in the future. Population
increase is getting very close to the optimal range of energy to
cause a shift in consciousness. That shift in consciousness will
transform and uplift and purify politics, money, energy, everything.
Actually all forms of money will be unnecessary. Every good and
necessary thing for organic wholistic organic living will be
available free to all beings.

After dying, going through my near-death experience and coming back,
I really respect life and death. In our DNA experiments we may have
opened the door to a great secret. Soon we will be able to live as
long as we want to live in this body.

After living 150 years or so, there will be an intuitive soul sense
that you will want to change channels. Living forever in one body is
not as creative as reincarnation, as transferring energy in this
fantastic vortex of energy that we are in. We are actually going to
see the wisdom of life and death, and enjoy it. As it is now, we have
already been alive forever.

This body, that you are in, has been alive forever. It comes from an
unending stream of life, going back to the Big Bang and beyond.

This body gives life to the next life, in dense and subtle energy.

This body has been alive forever already.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~ Blessed Be! ~*~


~*~ PsYcHeDeLiC MaGicKaL HuMMiNgBiRd )O( ~*~


http://YouTube.Com/MagickalHummingbird

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GoddessOfRealmsAndCreatures

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"There is nothing left for me but to live fully and completely in the
present, praying when I pray, and writing and praying when I write, and
worrying about nothing but the will and the glory of God, finding these
as best I can do in the sacrament of the present moment."

--Thomas Merton

…………..

Nature-born people of our times often show signs of degeneration. This is because the centre of gravity of their lives is rooted primarily in the intellectual brain consciousness. From that centre they may try to live the life of Gnostic pupilship. In this way, at most, they achieve a state, an experience, of religious observance, a life in which they sincerely try to serve God, the school and the Gnosis. But this state of pupilship is constantly being broken up and undermined, and cannot be sustained in the face of problems of dialectical life. For in essence, nothing changes when one tries to serve the Gnosis with the I-consciousness, with intellectual consciousness.

Seen from the point of view of the divine plan, this kind of religious observance is false; it has no foundation in reality. So you should strive not to imitate God, but to become one with God. That is the destiny of all creation. That is the plan. That is your calling. That is why the rose of roses dwells in your heart; to make possible your unification, your union with the Godhead which is within you.

Religious observance is therefore always a compromise. At most, it is a starting point. But if you remain at the starting point, without going any further, your religious observance will turn into ego observance. That is why, in the nature of death, there is always a conflict between religious and anti-religious people. That is why the field of religion is so rife with all kinds of experiments and confusion. That is why religious groups are constantly appealing to each other to unite.

These ideas may be new to you, so may we suggest you take some time to think them over? Then confusion will no longer torment you. Shift the center of gravity of your life. Make your form into the forecourt of a threefold temple. Carry out the purification of your heart, and thus prepare for an encounter with the God within you. Then He will be able to enter the sanctuary.

The path of Gnosis is the path of becoming one with God, and not the path of religious observance. The sage knows this, and puts it into practice. That is why he never ceases to seek and to find his centre of gravity in the still point at the centre of his being.

--J. Van Rijckenborgh and Catharose de Petri (from The Chinese Gnosis)

…….

The solid must be the root of the light.

The still must be the master of the restless.

Therefore, wise people when travelling all day

do not lose sight of their baggage cart.

Although there are beautiful scenes to see,

they remain quietly in their own place.

Should a lord of ten thousand chariots

appear more frivolous than a simple traveller

To be light is to lose the root.

To be restless is to lose the master..

--Tao te Chin  (chapter 26)

Translation by Gia Fu Feng & Jane English

I never did anything out of the blue, woh-o-oh
Want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know major toms a junkie
Strung out in heavens high
Hitting an all-time low

My mother said to get things done
You'd better not mess with major tom

--David Bowie

"When we seriously practice any authentic spiritual exercise, we sooner or later come to the recognition that we are not individuals seeking some exalted goal for ourselves, but are sparks of Oneness, the Only Being, aspects of the total embodiment of the Spirit of Guidance that leads all of creation back to the Source, the perfection of love, harmony, and beauty. In our motivation to attain the highest levels of awareness, we eventually release our personal identification and become completely connected with an inner guide, a metamagnetic urge that prods us at all times to let go into the Oneness."

—    David A. Cooper (Invoking Angels forBlessings, Protection and Healing)

………………….

Striving to be absolutely right is a very common attitude among humans. When we are trying to prove to an adversary that he is totally wrong, we fantasize about a moment when the Heavens, the forces of the cosmos itself, will come to our aid. Like small children, we imagine being able to set fire to the blackboard, to call attention to an injustice on the playground. To our disappointment, the blackboard does not catch fire –or, even if it does, the reaction defies our expectations.

The reality of dissension is that when it is based on and legitimated by human experience, it is not built on right/wrong or hero/villain dichotomies. To be able to overcome it or continue in the name of Heaven, we must understand that Heaven has no power to resolve discord. This is because the dynamic of such discord is to produce something unknown to and not invented by the Heavens.

            We are like children who wish that their parents would come to school one day to teach everyone, for once and for all, who we are. It is painful, but we know this is impossible. Communication can truly take place only within the reality of the school, its playground rules, its etiquette, and its own conventions. A parent's presence in school breaks communication and prevents us from being our true selves.

            It is very difficult to deal with the expectation that justice will be done. Justice does express itself, as the sages say, but in its own time. And even though time seems ungrateful, leaving many situations unresolved, these will persist for as long as they are issues for the sake of Heaven. We will always have the comfort of knowing they won't see closure until they are resolved.

            Discord that is not for the sake of Heaven will not last, and the energy spent proving who is right is wasteful, not at all constructive. Knowing when to invest in discord and when to avoid it is a question of economy and intelligence.

--Rabbi Nilton Bonder (The Kabbalah of Envy)

………………….

"Monkey," the Bodhisattva said, "do you know who I am?" The Great Sage opened wide his fiery eyes with their golden pupils, nodded his head and shouted at the top of his voice, "Of course I recognize you. You, thank goodness, are the All−Compassionate. All−Merciful Deliverer from Suffering, the Bodhisattva Guanyin from Potaraka Island in the Southern Sea. You're a very welcome visitor. Every day here seems like a year, and nobody I know has ever come to see me. Where have you come from?"

"I have received a mandate from the Buddha to go to the East and find the man who will fetch the scriptures,"

she replied, "and as I was passing this way I decided to come over and see you."

"The Buddha fooled me and crushed me under this mountain−−I haven't been able to stretch myself for five

hundred years. I desperately hope that you will be obliging enough to rescue me, Bodhisattva."

"You wretch," she replied, "you have such an appalling criminal record that I'm afraid you'd only make more

trouble if I got you out."

"I have already repented," he said, "and hope that you will show me the road I should follow. I want to

cultivate my conduct." Indeed:

When an idea is born in a man's mind

It is known throughout Heaven and Earth.

If good and evil are not rewarded and punished

The world is bound to go to the bad.

The Bodhisattva was delighted to hear what he had to say.

"The sacred scriptures say," she replied, '"If one's words are good, they will meet with a response from even a

thousand miles away; if they are bad, they will be opposed from the same distance.' If this is your state of

mind, then wait while I go to the East to find the man who will fetch the scriptures; I'll tell him to rescue you.

You can be his disciple, observe and uphold the faith, enter our Buddha's religion, and cultivate good

retribution for yourself in the future. What do you say to that?"

"I'll go, I'll go," the Great Sage repeated over and over again.

"As you have reformed," she said, "I'll give you a Buddhist name."

"I've already got a name. It's Sun Wukong." The Bodhisattva, very pleased, said, "I made two converts earlier,

and their names both contained Wu ('Awakened'). There's no need to give you any further instructions, so I'll

be off." The Great Sage, now aware of his own Buddha−nature, was converted to the Buddha's religion; and

the Bodhisattva devotedly continued her search for a saintly monk.

--Journey to the West

http://www.chine-informations.com/fichiers/jourwest.pdf

The problem in my country is war and malnutrition. My parents and my brothers were killed in the war. I joined the forces when I was twelve because I was told I would have food and should take revenge on the death of my parents. Please don't be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore. I am just a child. And what I want to say is that people fight because they think they can take revenge. But there is no revenge. You kill and you kill, but it will never stop. There is no such thing as revenge.

--Ishmael Beah, Age 15 (Sierra Leone)

"There are many declarations made only because we think other people are expecting us to make them.  The silence of God should teach us when to speak and when not to speak.  But we cannot bear the thought of that
silence, lest it cost us the trust and the respect of men."

--Thomas Merton

"I am silent, my father. I want to sing
a hymn to you while I am silent."

"Then sing it, for I am Mind."

"I understand Mind, Hermes,
who cannot be interpreted,
because he keeps within himself.
And I rejoice, my father,
because I see you smiling.

And the universe rejoices.
Therefore, there is no creature
that will lack your life.
For you are the lord
of the citizens in every place.

Your providence protects.
I call you 'father', 'aeon of the aeons',
'great divine spirit'.
And by a spirit he gives
rain upon everyone.

What do you say to me,
my father, Hermes?"

"Concerning these things,
I do not say anything, my son.
For it is right before God
that we keep silent
about what is hidden."

"Trismegistus,
let not my soul be deprived of the great divine vision.
For everything is possible for you
as master of the universe."

"Return to praising, my son,
and sing while you are silent.
Ask what you want in silence."

What he had finished praising, he shouted,
"Father Trismegistus!
What shall I say?
We have received this light.
And I myself see this same vision in you.
And I see the eighth, and the souls that are in it,
and the angels singing a hymn
to the ninth and its powers.
And I see him who has the power of them all,
creating those in the spirit."

"It is advantageous from now on,
that we keep silence in a reverent posture.
Do not speak about the vision from now on.
It is proper to sing a hymn to the father
until the day to quit (the) body."

--The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

--Luke 17:20-21

The tissues of the physical body are made up of cells; the tissue of the astral body is composed of lifetrons—intelligent units of light or be energy. When man is in a state of body attachment, characterized by tension or contraction of life energy into atomic components, the lifetrons of the astral body become compacted, circumscribed by identification with the physical form. By metaphysical relaxation, the lifetronic structure begins to expand—the grip of the flesh on one's identity loosens. By deeper and deeper meditation, the energy frame of the astral self expands beyond the boundaries of the physical body. The lifetronic body, being of a sphere of existence unconfounded by the delusional stricture of the three-dimensional physical world, has Ac potential to become one with the Cosmic Energy pervading the whole universe. God as Holy Ghost, Holy Vibration, is the Light of Cosmic Energy; man, made in the image of God, is composed of that We are that Light compacted; and we are that Light of our Universal Self.

As a first step toward entering the kingdom of God, the devotee should sit still in the correct meditation posture, with erect spine, and tense and relax the body—for by relaxation the consciousness is re­leased from the muscles. The yogi begins with proper deep breathing, inhaling and tensing the whole body, exhaling and relaxing, several times. With each exhalation all muscular tension and motion should be cast away, until a state of bodily stillness is attained. Then, by con­centration techniques, restless motion is removed from the mind. In perfect stillness of body and mind, the yogi enjoys the ineffable peace of the presence of the soul. In the body, life is templed; in the mind, light is templed; in the soul, peace is templed. The deeper one goes into the soul the more that peace is felt; that is superconsciousness. When by deeper meditation the devotee expands that awareness of peace and feels his consciousness spreading with it over the universe, that all be­ings and all creation are swallowed up in that peace, then he is enter­ing into Cosmic Consciousness. He feels that peace everywhere—in the flowers, in every human being, in the atmosphere. He beholds the earth and all worlds floating like bubbles in that ocean of peace.

The inner peace first experienced by the devotee in meditation is his own soul; the vaster peace he feels by going deeper is God. The devotee who experiences unity with everything has established God in the temple of his infinite inner perception.

In the temple of silence, in the temple of peace,

I will meet Thee, I will touch Thee, I will love Thee,

And coax Thee to my altar of peace.

•

In the temple of samadhi, in the temple of bliss,

I will meet Thee, I will touch Thee, I will love Thee,

And coax Thee to my altar of bliss

--Paramahansa Yogananda

"Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much
as your own unguarded thoughts.


Develop the mind of equilibrium.
You will always be getting praise and blame,
but do not let either affect the poise of the mind:
follow the calmness, the absence of pride."

--Sutta Nipata

 The sharpest boundary, however, is the one that separates the intermediary from the third and highest domain of the tribhuvana, which is termed svar and corresponds to our conception of the heavenly or celestial realm. The first two domains are comparatively similar, as in fact suggested by the words bhur and bhuvar, their respective Sanskrit designations; it is the transition from bhur to bhuvar that presents itself as a radical discontinuity, and in fact entails an inversion. So too the major break on the side of knowing is situated between the second and third of the corresponding degrees, as the analogies given in the Mandukya Upanishad in fact make it clear: nothing could indeed be more radical than the transition from the dream-state to sushupti, the state of dreamless sleep, which for this very reason is generally viewed as a state in which there is no knowing at all. It hardly needs saying that no amount of psychedelic drugs can take us across that border, and that even the techniques of yoga cannot effect that transition in the absence of initiatic grace. One might add that it is the failure to distinguish between the psychic an authentically celestial world that invalidates much of what contemporary authorities have to say concerning the so-called "spiritual life."

--Wolfgang Smith (cosmology in the face of Gnosis, Sophia Vol. 12, no.2)

God knows creatures, not according to the creature's knowledge, but according to His own.

--Dionysius the Areopagite

AUM. This imperishable word is the universe.
It is explained as the past, the present, the future;
everything is the word AUM.
Also whatever transcends threefold time is AUM.
All here is God; this soul is God.
This same soul is fourfold.

The waking state outwardly conscious,
having seven limbs and nineteen doors,
enjoying gross objects common to all, is the first.

The dreaming state inwardly conscious,
having seven limbs and nineteen doors,
enjoying subtle objects that are bright, is the second.

When one sleeps without yearning for any desires,
seeing no dreams, that is deep sleep.
The deep-sleep state unified in wisdom gathered,
consisting of bliss, enjoying bliss,
whose door is conscious wisdom, is the third.

This is the Lord of all; this is the omniscient;
this is the inner controller; this is the universal womb,
for this is the origin and end of beings.
Not inwardly wise nor outwardly wise nor both ways wise
nor gathered wisdom, nor wise nor unwise,
unseen, incommunicable, intangible,
featureless, unthinkable, indefinable,
whose essence is the security of being one with the soul,
the end of evolution, peaceful, good, non-dual---
this they deem the fourth.

It is the soul; it should be discerned.
This is the soul in regard to the word AUM and its parts.
The parts are the letters,
and the letters are its parts: A U M.

The waking state common to all is the letter A,
the first part, from "attaining" or from being first.
Whoever knows this attains all desires and becomes first.

The sleeping state, the bright, is the letter U,
the second part, from "uprising" or from being in between.
Whoever knows this rises up in knowledge and is balanced;
no one ignorant of God is born in that family.

The deep-sleep state, the wise, is the letter M,
the third part, from "measure" or from being the end.
Whoever knows this measures everything and reaches the end.

The fourth is without a letter, the incommunicable,
the end of evolution, good, non-dual.

Thus AUM is the soul.
Whoever knows this enters by one's soul into the soul;
this one knows this.

-- MANDUKYA UPANISHAD

None of the things which are comprehended by the senses or contemplated by the intellect really subsist; nothing except the transcendent and cause of all.

--St. Gregory of Nyssa

Notes:

Tribhuvana (Sanskrit) Three worlds; in Hindu literature the three bhuvanas are svarga (heaven), bhumi (earth), and patala (the lower regions). Esoterically the tribhuvanas are the spiritual, psychic or astral, and terrestrial spheres. http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Tribhuvana/id/195496

………………

Svar (Svarga, Svargaloka)

The heavenly domain (above Bhuvarloka) of Indra, king of the demigods

 (See also: Svar , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul) http://www.krishna.com

…………….

BHUR

Firstly, the word Bhur implies existence. God is self-existent and independent of all. He is eternal and unchanging. Without beginning and without end, God exists as a continuous, permanent, constant entity. Secondly, the word Bhur can also mean the Earth, on which we are born and sustained. God is the provider of all, and it is through His divine will that we our blessed with all that we require to maintain us through our lives. Finally, Bhur signifies Prana, or life (literally, breath). God is That which gives life to all. Whilst He is independent of all, all are dependent on Him. It is God who has given us life, God who maintains us throughout our lives, and God alone who has the ability to take away our life, when He so chooses. The only permanent entity, all others are subject to His own will

http://www.eaglespace.com/spirit/gayatribywords.php

…………..

 BHUVAH

Bhuvah describes the absolute Consciousness of God. God is self-Conscious as well as being Conscious of all else, and thus is able to control and govern the Universe. Also, the word Bhuvah relates to God's relationship with the celestial world. It denotes God's greatness - greater than the sky and space, He is boundless and unlimited. Finally, Bhuvah is also indicative of God's role as the remover of all pain and sufferings (Apaana). We see pain and sorrow all around us. However, through supplication to God, we can be freed from that pain and hardship. God Himself is devoid of any pain. Though He is Conscious of all, and is thus aware of pain, it does not affect Him. It is our own ignorance that makes us susceptible to the effects of Maya, or illusion, which causes us to feel pain. Through true devotion to God, we can be freed from the clutches of Maya, and thus be rid of pain and sorrow.

http://www.eaglespace.com/spirit/gayatribywords.php

………………

Sushupti: Hindu - Hinduism Dictionary on Consciousness

consciousness: Chitta or chaitanya.

1)    A synonym for mind-stuff, chitta; or

2)    the condition or power of perception, awareness, apprehension.

There are myriad gradations of consciousness, from the simple sentience of inanimate matter to the consciousness of basic life forms, to the higher consciousness of human embodiment, to omniscient states of superconsciousness, leading to immersion in the One universal consciousness, Parashakti. Chaitanya and chitta can name both individual consciousness and universal consciousness.

Modifiers indicate the level of awareness, e.g.,

-       vyashti chaitanya, "individual consciousness;"

-       buddhi chitta, "intellectual consciousness;"

-       Sivachaitanya, "God consciousness."

Five classical "states" of awareness are discussed in scripture:

1)    wakefulness (jagrat),

2)    "dream" (svapna) or astral consciousness,

3)    "deep sleep" (sushupti) or subsuperconsciousness,

4)    the superconscious state beyond (turiya "fourth") and

5)    the utterly transcendent state called turiyatita ("beyond the fourth").

See: awareness, chitta, chaitanya, mind (all entries).

(See also: Consciousness , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

"It was raining and there was wind.  I went out to the wagon shed.  You
could still see the hills in the distance, not too much rain for
that--many black clouds, low and torn, like smoke from a disaster,
flying angrily over the wide open ruin of the old horsebarn, where I
love to walk alone."

--Thomas Merton

THANKSGIVING HOMILY 2008

Introduction to the Readings

 As we hear God's Word for Thanksgiving 2008 let me suggest some questions for each of us:  How can we give Thanks in a year not of abundance but of scarcity?   With so many problems with our economy and in our world today, is it realistic to think that we can honestly say "Thanks Be To God" on this Thanksgiving Feast?  
 
Can we actually identify with the words of Sirach:  "Bless the God of all who has done wondrous things on earth?"    Can we find truth in Paul's assertion that we have been "enriched in every way?'  Can we, like the cleansed leper, return thanks because we realize what God has done for us?   I believe we can - but not easily.   Hear God's Word and wonder.
 
Homily
 
Did you hear the story about the woman who looked out of her kitchen window on Monday morning to notice her neighbor hanging out her laundry to dry?   She noticed that the whites looked gray and the coloreds looked dull.   "Such a shame that woman doesn't know how to wash her clothes clean," she said to husband.   The same thing happened the next Monday.   But the third Monday - oh my, what a change!   The whites sparkled in the sunlight and the colored clothes were radiant.   Finally, the woman thought to herself, that neighbor lady has discovered how laundry should be done.   When she told her husband how much better the neighbor's laundry looked, he said, "Well, it should.   Last Tuesday I washed your kitchen window."
 
So often the way we see things is conditioned by our own "dirty windows." What seems to be a problem "out there" is actually a problem "in here" - in us - in the way we perceive the situation.
 
On this Thanksgiving Day 2008 there appears to be so much "dirty laundry" out there in our economy --- in our world.  And many are and will be suffering from the filth of untruth which has undergirded our economic ways.  Everyone is calling for "a fix."

But what can effectively "fix" the flaws in our capitalistic economy?   Are bailouts merely putting bandaids on a corpse?  Is the answer really in a stimulus package to get you and me to spend more money?   On what?  For what?   Is this really just a gargantuan task for the Treasury Secretary?    Or does it call for a major economic conversion for each of us?
 
Perhaps what is really called for is a window washing of our own consciouness - a different way of seeing --- clearing the clutter of our own over-stuffed lifestyles.   Only if we take a good clean look at the ways in which we honestly and credibly make money, spend money, save money and share money can we truly Give Thanks in this difficult year of  increasing scarcity.   I believe that we CAN say "thanks alot" if we hear this financial crisis as a wake-up call from our God - challenging us to reimagine our economy according to God's economic plan.
 
The huge economic bubble has burst upon us all across the globe. I suggest this is due to the fact that, with our craving for more and more "stuff" to own and manipulate, we have  failed to hear and heed my Dad's homegrown wisdom:  "Don't Get Too Big For Your Britches."  Greed - living on credit beyond our means as persons, corporations and nations - that is what has done us in.   The chickens have come home to roost.  Our laundry looks pretty sad!   For God does not long tolerate lived lies.  The truth will always win in the end.
 
The United States Bishops recently addressed a letter to the current administration in Washington D.C. describing our diseased economy:
 
"The scandalous search for excessive economic rewards even to the point of dangerous speculation that exacerbates the pain and losses of the more vulnerable are egregious examples of an economic ethic that places economis gain above all other values.  Sadly, greed, speculation, exploitation of vulnerable people and dishonest practices helped to bring about this serious situation."   (September 26, 2008 Letter of Bishop William Murphy, chair of the USCCB committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development)
 
How can we on this Thanksgiving Day wash the filth from the windows our own economic perceptions?  We MUST reevaluate our economic visions and practices from a spiritual perspective.  We need to see our economy with the clear vision of God's eyes.   And that vision allows us to see and to say:   what is best for me, for us, is what is best for all.
 
In our economic trauma these days we are in a situation resembling that of the ten lepers in today's Gospel.  How so, you say?
 
In Jesus time, lepers were not allowed to live a normal social life in the community.  They were pushed outside the normal way of living in community because their disease was contagious.  And so too is our own consumerism and materialism contagious.  Shopping more in NOT the answer.  We live in what some call an economic totalitarianism.   Everything depends upon and is measured by money and things.  We are afflicted with the sores of over-extended credit, gas-guzzling vehicles and too much "stuff" in our cupboards.  More and more folks are slipping into a leprous situation - tossed out of their homes and losing the security of their savings.  
 
Like the lepers who met Jesus and asked for mercy, we need to do the same in humility.   Jesus simply told them to do what the law required for persons in that diseased condition:   "Go, show yourselves to the priests."   That ritual washing was required and their cleansing had to be certified by the sacred authorities before they could return to normal living with the rest of the community.
 
While we may not need to "show ourselves to the priests" to fulfill a rule of ritual purity,  we do need today to place our diseased economy under a spiritual x-ray - a penetrating light which can cleanse the filth of our own selfishness and greed.   Our economic woes are not just structural. They are also deeply spiritual.  Why?  Because private gain has prevailed over the common good.   We've lost sight of what the common good is.   We are driven by a self-interest and unregulated greed - primarily looking out for good old Number One.  Now there is nothing wrong with self-interest and success as long as one does this in the context of what is good for all.  Healthy self-interest will always be in the context of Other-Interest.
 
The priorities in our economy need to be revised - or perhaps better said, reversed.  Whereas our normal way of seeing the economy give first place to profit - no matter how it is gained.   But, if we wash the windows of our soul, our priorites would read like this:   People, Planet and then Profit.   Profit gained at the expense of persons and of the global village in which we live must be seen as "dirty laundry" - indeed, as immoral because it is dehumanizing.   Money must be at the service of people and the planet - not the other way around.
 
Back to the story of the ten lepers:  Only one leper came back to thank Jesus for the healing.   For him more than his body had been healed.  He realized that his very way of seeing and being in the world had been transformed by God's grace.  The other nine healed lepers seem to have returned to business-as-usual. They didn't realize what had really happened to them.   Their vision had not been transformed.  They could not acknowledge the One who had worked that wondrous deed.   Only the one Giving Thanks had the windows of his vision purified to see the source of his New Life and The Path Ahead.   It is Thanksgiving that makes all the difference.
 
Our global economy must grow again but in ways that serve three P's:  People,  Planet and only then Profit.   That will call for us to allow God to wash the windows of our perception.   That can convert our old ways of selfishness and greed toward a vision of seeing all in the light of the common good.   It will be a way of graciously respecting nature and supporting a sufficiency for all.  That's in strong contrast to the model of the traditional economic powers which translates to efficiency for the few and deficiency for everyone else.
 
Economic growth according to God's pattern will call for a whole new way of relating to money.   We must cure the leprous type of profit-first, profit-only economic growth that we have unleashed.   And this new way of thinking, seeing and acting must come from the bottom up - from each one of us changing our visions, our values and our behaviors.   We cannot spend our way out of this crisis.   We must transform the ways in which money is made, saved, shared and spent.  That's God's economic bailout!
 
If that can happen within our own consciousness and in our own consciences, then these unsettling times will have proved to have been not just scarcity but a Gift of God opening our eyes toward a more just and equitable abundance for all.  Then, with Sirach on this 2008 Thanksgiving we can honestly say:   ""Bless the God of all who has done wondrous things on earth  Who fosters people's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to his will."  (Sirach 50)

-- Fr. Patrick W. Collins, Ph.D

Then a ploughman said, "Speak to us of Work."

And he answered, saying:

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,

And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

And all work is empty save when there is love;

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "he who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.

And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."

But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

--Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet)

My speech is imperfect and maimed, for perfect speech is only to be found yonder…Everything I say is speech's skin- when has anyone discovered that mystery's kernel from its skin? In these words of mine, seek that meaning!!!

Never be without Love, lest you be dead – die in Love and remain alive!!....Persevere in your intention, and encourage, advise and aid your friends to do the same, for this is the work, the rest is all regret.

Whatever purifies you is the correct road-I will try not to define it

--Rumi

…………..

The suitability of meditation

Those who have not reached self-arising and self-liberation, have the usual ordinary thoughts:

Evil discursive thoughts have led them into samsara. To be free from these they use the means of meditation. Later vast prajña rises, free from all extremes.

By conceptions one falls into samsara, Dharmakirti's Praise to Manjushri says:

Conceptions are great ignorance.

It is these that make us sink

In the ocean of samsara.

If we are without conceptions,

We will pass beyond

the sufferings of conceptions.

The Edifice of the Three Jewels says:

By constant conception we wander

In the wilderness of samsara.

Because of constant formation

Of karma and the kleshas,

Hundreds of sufferings

Are made to manifest.

Since these are pacified by meditating, by doing so the prajña in which all dharmas are

perfectly liberated is sure to arise.

--Commentary on the great perfection

………

  (Sanskrit) or paññÄ� (Pali) has been translated as "wisdom," "understanding," "discernment," "cognitive acuity," or "know-how." In some sects of Buddhism, it especially refers to the wisdom that is based on the direct realization of the Four Noble Truths, impermanence, interdependent origination, non-self, emptiness, etc. PrajñÄ� is the wisdom that is able to extinguish afflictions and bring about enlightenment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praj%C3%B1%C4%81

Manjusri (Ch: Wénshū or Wénshūshili Púsà; Jp: Monju; Tib: Jampelyang; Nepalese: Manjushree) is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism. Manjusri is the bodhisattva associated with wisdom, doctrine and awareness and in Vajrayana Buddhism is the meditational diety (yidam), who embodies enlightend wisdom. Historically, the Mahayana scriptures assert that Manjusri was a disciple of Gautama Buddha, scriptures but he was not mentioned in Hinayana scriptures.

The Sanskrit term Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"[1]. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller Sanskrit name of Mañjuśrī-kum�ra-bhūta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manjusri

Dharmakirti (ca. 7th century), was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary Buddhist atoms and states of consciousness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmakirti

Samsara or saṃs�ra (Sanskrit:; Tibetan: khor wa; Mongolian: orchilong) refers to the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions.

According to these religions, one's karmic "account balance" at the time of death is inherited via the state at which a person is reborn. During the course of each worldly life actions committed (for good or ill) determine the future destiny of each being in the process of becoming (evolution or devolution). In Buddhism, at death the underlying volitional impulses (samskaras) thus accrued and developed are carried and transmitted in a consciousness structure popularly known as the soul which, after an intermediate period (in Tibetan called the bardo), forms the basis for a new biological structure that will result in rebirth and a new life. This process is considered to go on until the person achieves self-realization.

If one lives in evil ways, one is reborn into constant horrific sufferings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara

Karma (Sanskrit: kárma (help·info), kárman- "act, action, performance"[1]; Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" or "deed" in Indian religions understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called saṃs�ra) originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies.

The philosophical explanation of karma can differ slightly between traditions, but the general concept is basically the same. Through the law of karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to him/her and others. The results or 'fruits' of actions are called karma-phala. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, karma extends through one's present life and all past and future lives as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

In Buddhism, kilesa (Pali; Sanskrit: kleśa or klesha) is typically translated as "defilement" or "poison." In early Buddhist texts, kilesa generally referred to mental states which temporarily cloud the mind and manifest in unskillful actions. Over time, kilesa additionally became associated with the very roots of samsaric existence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilesa

The Sanskrit term Dharma (help·info) (Devan�garī:, Pali transliteration dhamma), is an Indian spiritual and religious term, that means one's righteous duty, or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term.[1] In Indian languages it contextually implies one's religion. Throughout Indian philosophy, Dharma is present as a central concept that is used in order to explain the "higher truth" or ultimate reality of the universe.

The word dharma literally translates as that which upholds or supports (from the root, dhr- to hold, ma - mother or Earth or Universe or Nature depending on context), and is generally translated into English as law. But throughout the history of Indian philosophy, it has governed ideas about the proper conduct of living – ideas that are upheld by the laws of the universe[2] The symbol of the dharma – the wheel – is the central motif in the national flag of India.

The various Indian religions and philosophy (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsism, and Sikhism, among others) have all accorded a central focus to Dharma and advocate its practice. Each of these religions emphasizes Dharma as the correct understanding of Nature (or God, as the origin of nature) in its teachings.[3][4][5] In these traditions, beings that live in accordance with Dharma proceed more quickly toward Dharma Yukam, Moksha or Nirvana (personal liberation). Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the founders of these traditions, such as those of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira. In traditional Hindu society with its caste structure, Dharma constituted the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and duties of each individual. (see dharmasastra). Dharma in its universal meaning shares much in common with the way of Tao or Taoism.

The antonym of dharma is adharma meaning unnatural or immoral.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma

"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important"

--Bertrand Russell

……..

The primary means by which we know the world is of course sense perception: we see and we touch corporeal objects, we hear sound, and we employ our olfactory and gustatory faculties to access two additional dimensions of the sensory universe. The paramount faculty of sensory knowing, however, is doubtless the visual, which is why one speaks of a "world-view" rather than of a "world-hearing" or a "world-touch," and why the term "perception" is frequently used to refer specifically to sight. The world, then, exists in the first place as something to be seen, something to be perceived visually.

We have noted that knowing—and thus, in particular, visual perception—"is ultimate," which is to say that it cannot be reduced :o the category of "being": no cosmic process can explain or account for even the simplest such act. On the other hand, physical processes do of course play a necessary role in every form of human knowing, and we are all aware of the fact that cognitive neurophysiology, in particular, has made impressive strides. In the case of visual percep­tion, for instance, the anatomy of the so-called primary visual system has been meticulously investigated, with the result that one now dis­poses over a "wiring diagram," extending from the retinal ganglion cells (of which there are more than 100 million in each eye) to the hippocampus, which dwarfs in its Gargantuan complexity anything the electrical engineer has ever conceived. But while it is certainly true that this research has enabled us to give at least partial answers to numerous questions relating to visual perception, when it comes to the central issue it has so far only confirmed our ignorance; as Sir Francis Crick has put it: "We can see how the brain takes the picture apart, but we do not yet see how it puts it together."⁶ There arc, however, compelling reasons why in fact the brain cannot "put it together," a question with which I have dealt elsewhere.⁷ What is more, not only is the brain incapable of "putting the picture together," but it has been shown on the basis of empirical studies that, contrary to what had long been assumed, visual perception is not in reality a matter of seeing a picture or a visual image at all.⁸ What one sees in bona fide acts of visual perception are not "pictures," but corporeal objects, precisely: one sees a mountain or a tree, for example, and not just an image of a mountain or a tree. One can also, or course, see pictures, as happens in an art gallery, for example.

We need to understand that perception, like every other act of knowing, is consummated in a certain union or contact between the subject who knows and the object that is known; as Aristotle has ob­served, "in a certain manner" the two become one. It needs further to be noted that "knowledge is ultimate" precisely because this union is unlike any other: it is a union mi generis by which the act of know­ing is defined. It follows that neither neurophysiology nor any other natural science can comprehend that union. Though the act of human knowing, in any of its modes, does most assuredly involve the physical body—what we have characterized as the intersection of man and cos­mos, their common locus—it is perforce consummated in the Intellect, which exists neither in space nor in time. All that the contemporary cognitive sciences have brought to light—not as conjectures, but as fact—stands in full agreement with this conclusion.

--Wolfgang Smith extract from "Cosmology in the Face of Gnosis", found in Sophia the journal of traditional studies Vol 12, no.2

….

So I am I because you are you; and you are you because I am I –so neither I am I, nor you are you. But I am I because I am I; and you are you because you are you – so I am I and you are you, and we can talk to each other!

--Old Yiddish Proverb (Found in the Kabbalah of Envy, by Rabbi N. Bonder)

That the self advances and confirms the ten thousand things
          is called delusion;
That the ten thousand things advance and confirm the self
          is called enlightenment.

                       -    Zen Master Dogen Zenji, 1200 - 1253
                             Moon in a Dewdrop
                             Translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi  

……..

"God becomes present in a very special way and manifests Himself in the
world wherever He is known and loved by men.  His glory shines in an
ineffable manner through those whom He has united to Himself.  Those who
as yet know nothing of God have a perfect right to expect that we who do
pretend to know Him should give evidence of the fact, not only by
'satisfying every one that asketh us a reason of that hope which is in
us,' but above all by the testimony of our own lives."

--Thomas Merton

…..

"Seek truth in meditation, not in moldy books. 

Look in the sky to find the moon,
not in the pond." 

-  Persian proverb

Who will release me from all the pits and prisons, in which are gathered lusts that are not pleasing?

Who will take me over the flood of the tossing sea – the zone of conflict where there is not rest?

"The man who lives in division is living in death.
He cannot find himself because he is lost;
he has ceased to be a reality.
The person he believes himself to be is a bad dream...."

--Thomas Merton

Who will save me from the jaws of all the beasts who destroy and terrify one another without pity?

Who will lead me beyond the walls and take me over the moats, which are full of fear and trembling from ravaging demons?

Who will lead me beyond rebirths, and free me from them all – and from all the waves, in which there is not rest?

I will weep for my soul, saying: May I be saved from this, and from the terror of the beasts who devour one another!

The bodies of men, and of birds of the air, of fish of the sea, and four footed creatures and of all insects who will take me beyond these and save me from them all, so that I shall not turn and fall into the perdition of those hells?

So that I shall not pass through defilement in them, nor return in rebirth, wherein all kinds of plants are taken out in…

Who will save me from the swallowing heights and the devouring deeps, which are all hell and distress?

-- Fortunate for Us (Manichaean initiatory poem extract, Canto Iva, 1-10)