Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Free Hugs

Monday, April 16, 2007

Parents/Children

Friday, April 13, 2007

Heart Notes 4/11/07

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Easter - 3 Quotations from the Internet

This represents the moment in meditation when the Higher Self, responding to the willed intention of the individual, crystallizes a vision of a new life, and the path of Spirit opens up before the mind's eye, presenting the aspirant with new options, new possibilities, new connections, and new ways of living that will fulfill the individual's Higher Purpose.

This is a very auspicious moment indeed for our meditation practice. Now is the time to celebrate the subordination of the ego in favor of the Higher Self. Now is the time to demonstrate our willed intent to connect with the Higher Self, Christ Consciousness, through meditation, prayer, ceremony and ritual. Now is the time to surrender and allow ourselves to be guided on the path of Spirit.

On Good Friday, as he hung dying on the cross of wood, Jesus the Christ attained a world-altering spiritual victory over the personal ego which opened for all of us a doorway to the Way, the Truth and Eternal Life.

The death of the ego is long and slow, and our ability to remain constant during this process of suffering and ego-death is made possible only by a constant renewal of faith. Yet as Jesus the Christ experienced on his cross of wood, every aspirant reaches a point where he or she will cry “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

Each aspirant must rest assured that despite all feelings of despair and loss, the process is only purging us of the illusion of the separate self, the illusion that the egoistic personality is in control of our lives. Jesus the Christ remained Self-aware on the cross, in a spirit of total surrender.

In our spiritual practice, whatever it may be, we must also surrender to Universal forces far beyond the control of the egoistic mind, in a spirit of love, with a sincere desire that our sacrifice be offered for the salvation of the Whole, and thus we will achieve a great spiritual victory.

http://www.satyacenter.com/library-curtis_lang_archive-easter-2005

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[T]he core meaning of Easter is that Jesus continued to be experienced after his death, but in a radically new way: as a spiritual and divine reality.

In a similar way, we might find ourselves in another place on the spectrum of spiritual understanding. Even if we, as individuals, do not necessarily experience the divine Christ presence, we can experience the message of Easter as a human desire to rise above the “tragic dimension” of our living...It is our desire and choice to live with the hope that joy is available to us, that it is intrinsically within us and with us. And for those times when we cannot access hope or joy ourselves there is the message, reflected in the natural world, of spring and re-birth and new life that reminds us of its very existence.

As we give our attention to the events of our lives, to the rise and the fall, to cold and the emerging warmth, we find the possibility of transformation for ourselves. Not simply going up and down, not simply repeating the cycle endlessly (remember the yo-yo is just a metaphor, just a pointer), but now fully engaged, now alive, now birthing hope in every glance, revealing love in every touch. Here is the secret of Easter: With each breath we can be born anew. Now. Now. Now.

http://www.fusn.org/pages/sermons03-04/sermon86.html

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The Three Traitors: The events that transpired during the Holy Week, as described in the gospels, must be lived within ourselves in order for us to become Christified beings. Just as Jesus was physically born, crucified, and resurrected in the holy land, so too should the Inner Christ go through the same within ourselves in order for us to become Christified. It is important to realize that all the historical figures that existed around Jesus have their counterparts within our psyche. The three traitors who crucified Christ are inside each of us. Judas is the demon of desire, that constantly torments us. Pilate is the demon of the mind, which washed its hands and provides justifications for everything. And Caiaphas is the demon of ill-will, that causes us to stray from doing the Will of the Father.

The multitudes of people who asked for the Lord's crucifixion are all the inhuman psychic aggregates that we carry within, which comprise the psychological ego. Who whipped Christ? Who are the ones who spit on Him? Who crowned Him with a crown of thorns? Who are the ones who cried "Crucifixion, Crucifixion", sending Him off to death? Are they not the same multitude of psychological defects that we have created and carry in our interior?

The Twelve Apostles: The twelve apostles are found within ourselves as well. They are the twelve fundamental parts of our own Being, found in our interior here and now. There is a Peter, a John, a Philip, and Andrew, a Matthew, etc., each with his own powers and virtues. Whoever wishes to become a true initiate or esoterist must learn to relate with himself, with the twelve parts of his/her inner Being. But this is only possible by burning the psychological defects with the Christic Fire, since the correct relation with each of the parts of out Being is impossible as long as the ego continues to exist within us.

Therefore Easter, the Holy Week, and the entirety of Christic history is not just a tale of yesterday, confined exclusively to the past. It holds deep esoteric mysteries, and for those who have gained comprehension it is a story of the present, a mystery that will unfold into work towards one's own Christification, here and now.

http://home.earthlink.net/~gnosisla/Aprilissue.html

Friday, April 06, 2007

Religion/Spirituality

The essence of religion:
Fear God and obey God.
The quintessence of spirituality:
Love God and become another God.

- Sri Chinmoy

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Letting Go

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t control another.

To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness,which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another, it is to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face reality.

To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less and love more.

http://members.cox.net/mppowers1/letgo.htm