Over 16,529,242 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?
A FULL MOON MEDITATION Suggested thoughts for a sensed relationship with your ashram and group:
|
|
Full moon meditation keynote: The disciples that face the light and stand within its radiance are blinded to the issues of the world of human beings; they pass on the Lighted Way to the great Centre of Absorption. But those who feel the urge to pass that way, yet love their brethren on the darkened path, revolve upon the pedestal of light and turn the other way.They face towards the dark, and then the seven points of light within themselves transmit the outward streaming light, and lo! the faces of those upon the darkened way receive that light. For them the way is not so dark. Behind the warriors - twixt the light and the dark - blazes the light of Hierarchy. |
|
Individual Alignment: I accept the responsibility of discipleship which my soul has placed upon me. I, the manifesting Self, through the magical power of my nature, now reabsorb this fraction of myself dwelling in the body. |
NEW YORK – Fireworks lit the night sky above New York with a kaleidoscope of colors shooting 1,000 feet into the air on an Independence Day that began with the Statue of Liberty's crown opening to the public for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001.
It was the nation's biggest fireworks display, with more than 22 tons of pyrotechnics exploding Saturday over a mile-and-a-half of the Hudson River, a new vantage point for New York's festivities. Millions of spectators watched from both sides of the river.
Among them were Jamalat Bayoumy and his wife, Mosad Mohamad — food vendors who work near the river. They lost an estimated $1,000 in business when police asked them to shut down because of swelling crowds.
"This is very nice," Bayoumy said, "but we're losing money in America."
But, his wife added, "America is free. We have green cards and we dream to become Americans."
While the recession forced many communities to scale down, or even cancel, their fireworks, "we're a country of survivors and fighters, and we try to make things work," said Gary Souza, whose family-owned, California-based company is staging the New York display as well as hundreds of others across the country — including the nation's capital.
In Washington, the daylong celebrations started with a parade along Constitution Avenue and ended with fireworks over the Washington Monument as a band played a medley of patriotic music.
President Obama, speaking to military families at the White House for Independence Day festivities, told the service members they were "the latest, strongest link in that unbroken chain that stretches back to the Continental Army."
Vice President Joe Biden spent the Fourth of July in Iraq, presiding over a naturalization ceremony for 237 U.S. troops from 59 countries. He had lunch with the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade from Delaware, to which his son, Beau, belongs.
Former President George W. Bush spoke amid thunderous applause in rural Woodward, Okla., calling the U.S. the "greatest nation on the face of the earth." He thanked members of the military for their service, and thanked spectators for giving "a retired guy something to do."
In Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, the city held a parade through the Old City neighborhood for the first time in 18 years. Descendants of the Declaration's signers gathered at the Liberty Bell, and a spectacular fireworks show went off over the Museum of Art.
On Saturday morning in Boston, with its rich Revolutionary War history, the Navy's oldest commissioned warship performed its annual turnaround in the harbor. The USS Constitution — "Old Ironsides" — marked the day by firing a 21-gun salute, the highest maritime honor, followed by 19 volleys.
On Saturday evening, Bostonians filled the banks of the Charles River for a free Boston Pops concert featuring Neil Diamond.
And on Brooklyn's Coney Island, an iconic Fourth of July event — Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest — was won Saturday afternoon by Joey Chestnut, who chomped down a record 68 dogs.
In New York, Manhattan's West Side Highway was closed to traffic so pedestrians could view the fireworks, with three lanes packed so tightly with people stretched out on blankets and beach chairs that it was difficult to move. Across the river, Frank Sinatra's hometown of Hoboken, N.J., had one of the best views, facing the heart of the barge lineup in the Hudson against the Manhattan skyline for "one of the biggest and best shows we've ever put together," said Souza.
The celebration returned to Manhattan's West Side for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. The extravaganza was expanded this year with more than 44,000 shells.
David Khedher, 25, a police officer from Vaxjo, Sweden, was in New York with a childhood friend. He said he has a special feeling for America's Independence Day because his mother had lived through Poland's Solidarity movement that led to democracy and his father is Iraqi-born.
"I'm celebrating your Fourth of July because Americans really know how to do it," he said.
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum — a retired World War II aircraft carrier — hosted the live NBC broadcast of the spectacle, featuring the cast of Broadway's "West Side Story" and other stars. The New York Pops orchestra sat on the front open deck of the Intrepid playing a medley of patriotic music and new numbers composed for the occasion.
The nationwide festivities, though, were not without some calamity.
In North Carolina, authorities said a truckload of fireworks exploded on Ocracoke Island off the coast, killing two workers and critically injuring three. And in central Florida, officials said one person was killed in a lightning strike at a Fourth of July gathering in Lakeland and at least 18 others were taken to hospitals.
In northern Indiana, more than a dozen people were taken to local hospitals when a pedestrian bridge over a lake collapsed as crowds were leaving a fireworks show in Merrillville. Dive teams helped with the rescue. In western Pennsylvania, a Mercer County man was flown to a hospital when an explosive blew up in his hands and also caught his house on fire
Play Video AP – Worker dead in Disney World monorail collision ORLANDO, Fla. – Two monorail trains crashed early Sunday morning in the Magic Kingdom section of Walt Disney World, killing one train's operator, emergency officials said.
The monorail operator died at the scene of the crash, which happened around 2 a.m., said Bo Jones, deputy chief for Reedy Creek Fire Department. The other train operator was not injured, but was taken to a hospital because he was emotionally shaken. Five park guests were treated at the scene.
It is unclear what caused the crash, Jones said. Orange County Sheriff's officials are investigating the cause.
Jones said the crash happened at the park's ticket and transportation center. About a dozen guards wearing blue Disney security uniforms guarded the monorail station Sunday morning and prevented visitors from approaching the area.
Ethan Meus, who was visiting the theme park from Dubuque, Iowa, said he and his family took the monorail to dinner at a resort hotel Saturday night. Meus, 17, watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the monorail on the way back to his hotel, he said, and didn't notice any problems with the train.
"It's pretty shocking to hear that a driver was killed in that accident," Meus said.
The family was planning to take the train again Sunday to visit Disney's Epcot Center, but now planned to take a bus, Meus added.
"You would think it would be so safe," said 20-year-old Lauren Shoebottom, who was visiting the park from London. "You don't expect it on holiday, do you?"
Walt Disney World vice president of public affairs Mike Griffin issued a statement offering condolences to the employee's family and saying the monorail was closed.
"It's a bit shocking," said 22-year-old Danielle Williams, of London. "Disney seems so perfect."
BALTIMORE – Catholic church officials in Baltimore are poised to begin the process of investigating a miracle attributed to Francis Xavier Seelos, a 19th century Redemptorist priest who lived, worked and died in New Orleans, the city which has helped give rise to the cause for his canonization.
A committee appointed by the Archdiocese of Baltimore will soon look into the story of Mary Ellen Heibel, an Annapolis, Maryland woman who was cured of terminal cancer in 2005, after praying to Seelos. The findings will be sent to the Vatican, as part of the campaign to have Seelos declared a saint.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II declared Seelos blessed, one step from sainthood. Part of that investigation involved a Gretna housewife, Angela Boudreaux, who said that her advanced cancer disappeared after she prayed to Seelos in 1966. Mrs. Boudreaux and her husband traveled to the Vatican to attend the beatification service. She died in 2001.
A Bavarian priest, Seelos worked among German immigrants in New Orleans for a year before dying of yellow fever in 1867. The city is home to a Seelos shrine and museum, housed inside St. Mary’s Assumption church, where the priest once served. He also served as a pastor and religious superior in Baltimore and Annapolis, two cities where the most recent canonization effort is now centered.
The church requires one more miracle to complete the process for canonization. Believers hope that the Baltimore case would be that miracle.
According to the Baltimore Sun report, Heibel, 71, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2003 and underwent surgery. But a year later, doctors found cancer in a lymph node. Heibel began praying to Father Seelos, and asking parishioners at her church, friends and family to do the same.
Her prayers intensified a year later when doctors told her the cancer had returned, and spread to her lungs, liver, stomach and chest. Her doctor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center told her she might have only six months to live.
During her chemotherapy treatment, a doctor agreed to treat Heibel with a new combination of cancer drugs, thinking that the medication would double her life expectancy to 12 months. Hoping for intervention from Father Seelos, a friend asked a priest to schedule a novena to the priest, or series of prayers recited for nine consecutive days or weeks.
According to the Baltimore Sun report, the week after Heibel’s final chemotherapy treatment, a scan showed most of her cancer had disappeared.
Heibel, her doctors, nurses and friends will be among the 11 witnesses to appear before the church committee examining her case.
Peripheral neuropathy describes damage to the peripheral nervous system, the vast communications network that transmits information from the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) to every other part of the body. Peripheral nerves also send sensory information back to the brain and spinal cord, such as a message that the feet are cold or a finger is burned. Damage to the peripheral nervous system interferes with these vital connections. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral neuropathy distorts and sometimes interrupts messages between the brain and the rest of the body.
Because every peripheral nerve has a highly specialized function in a specific part of the body, a wide array of symptoms can occur when nerves are damaged. Some people may experience temporary numbness, tingling, and pricking sensations (paresthesia), sensitivity to touch, or muscle weakness. Others may suffer more extreme symptoms, including burning pain (especially at night), muscle wasting, paralysis, or organ or gland dysfunction. People may become unable to digest food easily, maintain safe levels of blood pressure, sweat normally, or experience normal sexual function. In the most extreme cases, breathing may become difficult or organ failure may occur.
Some forms of neuropathy involve damage to only one nerve and are called mononeuropathies. More often though, multiple nerves affecting all limbs are affected-called polyneuropathy. Occasionally, two or more isolated nerves in separate areas of the body are affected-called mononeuritis multiplex.
In acute neuropathies, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, symptoms appear suddenly, progress rapidly, and resolve slowly as damaged nerves heal. In chronic forms, symptoms begin subtly and progress slowly. Some people may have periods of relief followed by relapse. Others may reach a plateau stage where symptoms stay the same for many months or years. Some chronic neuropathies worsen over time, but very few forms prove fatal unless complicated by other diseases. Occasionally the neuropathy is a symptom of another disorder.
In the most common forms of polyneuropathy, the nerve fibers (individual cells that make up the nerve) most distant from the brain and the spinal cord malfunction first. Pain and other symptoms often appear symmetrically, for example, in both feet followed by a gradual progression up both legs. Next, the fingers, hands, and arms may become affected, and symptoms can progress into the central part of the body. Many people with diabetic neuropathy experience this pattern of ascending nerve damage.
"Work out your own salvation."—ST. PAUL.
I HAD a feeling, when I retired to my room that night, as if years lay between me and the portion of my life which I had spent in Paleveria. But across the wide gulf my soul embraced Severnius. All that was beautiful, and lovable, and noble in that far-off country centered in him, as light centres in a star.
But of Elodia I could not think without pain. I even felt a kind of helpless rage mingling with the pain,—remembering that it was simply the brutality of the social system under which she had been reared, that had stamped so hideous a brand upon a character so fair. I contrasted her in my mind with the women asleep in the rooms about me, whose thoughts were as pure as the thoughts of a child. Had she been born here, I reflected, she would have been like Clytia, like Ariadne. And oh! the pity of it, that she had not! p. 147
I was restless, wakeful, miserable, thinking of her; remembering her wit, her intelligence, her power; remembering how charming she was, how magnetic, and alas! how faulty!
She gave delight to all about her, and touched all life with color. But she was like a magnificent bouquet culled from the gardens of wisdom and beauty; a thing of but temporary value, whose fragrance must soon be scattered, whose glory must soon pass away.
Ariadne was the white and slender lily, slowly unfolding petal after petal in obedience to the law of its own inner growth. Should the blossom be torn asunder its perfume would rise as incense about its destroyer, and from the life hidden at its root would come forth more perfect blossoms and more delicate fragrance.
I had arrived at this estimate of her character by a process more unerring and far swifter than reason. You might call it spiritual telegraphy. The thought of her not only restored but immeasurably increased my faith in woman; and I fell asleep at last soothed and comforted.
I awoke in the morning to the sound of singing. It was Ariadne's voice, and she was touching the strings of a harp. All Caskians sing, and all are taught to play upon at least one musical instrument. Every household is an orchestra.
Ariadne's voice was exceptionally fine—where all voices were excellent. Its quality was singularly bird-like; sometimes it was the joyous note of the lark, and again it was the tenderly sweet, and passionately sad, dropping-song of the mocking-bird.
When I looked out of my window, the sun was just silvering the point of the Spear, and light wreaths of mist were lifting from the valleys. I saw the Master, staff in hand, going up toward the mountains, and Fides was coming across the hills. p. 148
I had wondered, when I saw the Master and his wife on the balcony the night before, how they came to be there at such an hour on such a night. I took the first opportunity to find out. The only way to find out about people's affairs in Caskia, is by asking questions, or, by observation—which takes longer. They speak with their lives instead of their tongues, concerning so many things that other people are wordy about. They are quite devoid of theories. But they are charmingly willing to impart what one wishes to know.
I learned that Clytia's parents lived within a stone's throw of her house on one side, and Calypso's grandparents at about the same distance on the other. And I also learned that it was an arrangement universally practiced; the clustering together of families, in order that the young might always be near at hand to support, and protect, and to smooth the pathway of the old. Certain savage races upon the Earth abandon the aged to starvation and death; certain other races, not savage, abandon them to a loneliness that is only less cruel. But these extraordinarily just people repay to the helplessness of age, the tenderness and care, the loving sympathy, which they themselves received in the helplessness of infancy.
The grandparents happened to be away from home, and I did not meet them for some days.
On that first morning we had Clytia's parents to breakfast. Immediately after breakfast the circle broke up. It was Clytia's morning to visit and assist in the school which her little ones attended; Ariadne started off to her work, with a fresh cluster of the delicious blue flowers in her belt; and I had the choice of visiting the steel-works with Calypso, or taking a trip to Lake Eudosa, on foot, with the Master. I could hardly conceal the delight with which I decided in favor of the latter. We set off at p. 149 once, and what a walk it was! A little way through the city, and then across a strip of lush green meadow, starred with daisies, thence into sweet-smelling woods, and then down, down, down, along the rocky edge of the canyon, past the deafening waterfalls to the wonderful Lake!
We passed, on our way through the city, a large, fine structure which, upon inquiry, I found to be the place where the Master "taught" on the Sabbath day.
"Do you wish to look in?" he asked, and we turned back and entered. The interior was beautiful and vast, capacious enough to seat several thousand people; and every Sunday it was filled.
I thought it a good opportunity for finding out something about the religion of this people, and I began by asking:
"Are there any divisions in your Church,—different denominations, I mean?"
He seemed unable to comprehend me, and I was obliged to enter into an explanation, which I made as simple as possible, of course, relative to the curse of Adam and the plan of redemption. In order that he might understand the importance attaching to our creeds, I told him of the fierce, sanguinary struggles of past ages, and the grave controversies of modern times, pertaining to certain dogmas and tenets,—as to whether they were essential, or nonessential to salvation.
"Salvation from what?" he asked.
"Why, from sin."
"But how? We know only one way to be saved from sin."
"And what is that?" I inquired.
"Not to sin."
"But that is impossible!" I rejoined, feeling that he was trifling with the subject. Though that was unlike him. p. 150
"Yes, it is impossible," he replied, gravely. "God did not make us perfect. He left us something to do for ourselves."
"That is heretical," said I. "Don't you believe in the Fall of Man?"
"No, I think I believe in the Rise of Man," he answered, smiling.
"O, I keep forgetting," I exclaimed, "that I am on another planet!"
"And that this planet has different relations with God from what your planet has?" returned he. "I cannot think so, sir; it is altogether a new idea to me, and—pardon me!—an illogical one. We belong to the same system, and why should not the people of Mars have the sentence for sin revoked, as well as the people of Earth? Why should not we have been provided with an intercessor? But tell me, is it really so?—do you upon the Earth not suffer the consequences of your acts?"
"Why, certainly we do," said I; "while we live. The plan of salvation has reference to the life after death."
He dropped his eyes to the ground.
"You believe in that life, do you not?" I asked.
"Believe in it!"—he looked up, amazed. "All life is eternal; as long as God lives, we shall live."
A little later he said:
"You spoke of the fall of man,—what did you mean?"
"That Man was created a perfect being, but through sin became imperfect, so that God could not take him back to Himself,—save by redemption."
"And God sent His Only Son to the Earth, you say, to redeem your race from the consequences of their own acts?"
"So we believe," said I.
After another brief silence, he remarked:
"Man did not begin his life upon this planet in perfection." p. 151
At this moment we passed a beautiful garden, in which there was an infinite profusion of flowers in infinite variety.
"Look at those roses!" he exclaimed; "God planted the species, a crude and simple plant, and turned it over to man to do what he might with it; and in the same way he placed man himself here,—to perfect himself if he would. I am not jealous of God, nor envious of you; but just why He should have arranged to spare you all this labor, and commanded us to work out our own salvation, I cannot comprehend."
It struck me as a remarkable coincidence that he should have used the very words of one of our own greatest logicians.
A longer silence followed. The Master walked with his head inclined, in the attitude of profound thought. At last he drew a deep breath and looked up, relaxing his brows.
"It may be prodigiously presumptuous," he said, "but I am inclined to think there has been a mistake somewhere." "How, a mistake?" I asked.
He paid no heed to the question, but said: "Tell me the story,—tell me the exact words, if you can, of this Great Teacher whom you believe to be the Son of God?"
I gave a brief outline of the Saviour's life and death, and it was a gratification to me—because it seemed, in some sort, an acknowledgment, or concession to my interpretation,—to see that he was profoundly affected.
"Oh!" he cried,—his hands were clenched and his body writhed as with the actual sufferings of the Man of Sorrows,—"that a race of men should have been brought through such awful tribulation to see God! Why could they not accept the truth from his lips?"
"Because they would not. They kept crying 'Give us a sign,' and he gave himself to death."
I grouped together as many of the words of Christ as I could p. 152 recall, and I was surprised, not only that his memory kept its grasp on them all, but that he was able to see at once their innermost meaning. It was as if he dissolved them in the wonderful alembic of his understanding, and instantly restored them in crystals of pure truth, divested alike of mysticism and remote significance. He took them up, one by one, and held them to the light, as one holds precious gems. He knew them, recognized them, and appraised them with the delight, and comprehensiveness, and the critical judgment of a connoisseur of jewels.
"You believe that Christ came into your world," he said, "that you 'might have life.' That is, he came to teach you that the life of the soul, and not the body, is the real life. He died 'that you might live,' but it was not the mere fact of his death that assured your life. He was willing to give up his life in pledge of the truth of what he taught, that you might believe that truth, and act upon that belief, and so gain life. He taught only the truth,—his soul was a fountain of truth. Hence, when he said, Suffer the little children to come unto me, it was as though he said, Teach your children the truths I have taught you. And when he cried in the tenderness of his great and yearning love, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, he meant,—oh! you cannot doubt it, my friend,—he meant, Come, give up your strifes, and hatreds, your greeds, and vanities, and selfishness, and the endless weariness of your pomps and shows; come to me and learn how to live, and where to find peace, and contentment. 'A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.' This was the 'easy yoke,' and the 'light burden,' which your Christ offered to you in place of the tyranny of sin. 'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.' There is nothing finer than that,—there is no law above that! We Caskians have been trying to work upon that principle for p. 153 thousands of years. It is all that there is of religion, save the spiritual perception of abstract truths which we may conceive of, more or less clearly, as attributes of God. Your Great Teacher explained to you that God is a spirit, and should be worshiped in spirit and in truth. Hence we may worship Him where and when we will. Worship is not a ceremony, but profound contemplation of the infinite wisdom, and infinite power, and the infinite love of God. The outdoor world,—here, where we stand now, with the marvelous sky above us, the clouds, the sun; this mighty cataract before us; and all the teeming life, the beauty, the fragrance, the song,—is the best place of all. I pity the man who lacks the faculty of worship! it means that though he may have eyes he sees not, and ears he hears not."
"Do you believe in temples of worship?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied, "I believe in them; for though walls and stained windows shut out the physical glories of the world, they do not blind the eyes of the spirit. And if there is one in the pulpit who has absorbed enough of the attributes of God into his soul to stand as an interpreter to the people, it is better than waiting outside. Then, too, there is grandeur in the coming together of a multitude to worship in oneness of spirit. And all things are better when shared with others. I believe that art should bring its best treasures to adorn the temples of worship, and that music should voice this supreme adoration. But in this matter, we should be careful not to limit God in point of locality. What does the saying mean, 'I asked for bread, and ye gave me a stone?' I think it might mean, for one thing, 'I asked where to find God, and you pointed to a building.' The finite mind is prone to worship its own creations of God. There are ignorant races upon this planet,—perhaps also upon yours,—who dimly recognize Deity in this way; they bring the best they have of skill in handiwork, p. 154 to the making of a pitiful image to represent God; and then, forgetting the motive, they bow down to the image. We call that idolatry. But it is hard even for the enlightened to avoid this sin."
He paused a moment and then went on:
"I cannot comprehend the importance you seem to place upon the forms and symbols, nor in what way they relate to religion, but they may have some temporary value, I can hardly judge of that. Baptism, you say, is a token and a symbol, but do a people so far advanced in intelligence and perception, still require tokens and symbols? And can you not, even yet, separate the spiritual meaning of Christ's words from their literal meaning? You worship the man—the God, if you will,—instead of that for which he stood. He himself was a symbol, he stood for the things he wished to teach. 'I am the truth," 'I am the life.' Do you not see that he meant, 'I am the exponent of truth, I teach you how to live; hearken unto me.' In those days in which he lived, perhaps, language was still word-pictures, and the people whom he taught could not grasp the abstract, hence he used the more forcible style, the concrete. He could not have made this clearer, than in those remarkable words, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
"I know," I replied, as he paused for some response from me; "my intellect accepts your interpretation of these things, but this symbolic religion of ours is ingrained in our very consciences, so that neglect of the outward forms of christianity seems almost worse than actual sin."
"And it will continue to be so," he said, "until you learn to practice the truth for truth's sake,—until you love your neighbor—not only because Christ commanded it, but because the principle
of love is 'ingrained in your consciences.' As for belonging to a church, I can only conceive of that in the social sense, for every soul that aspires upward belongs to Christ's church universal. They are the lambs of his flock, the objects of his tenderest care. But I can see how a great number of religious societies, or organizations, are possible, as corresponding with the requirements of different groups of people."
"Yes," I said, glad of this admission, "and these societies are all aiming at the same thing that you teach,—the brotherhood of man. They clothe the poor, they look after the sick, they send missionaries to the heathen, they preach morality and temperance,—all, in His Name, because, to tell the truth, they cannot conceive of any virtue disassociated from the man, Jesus. Jesus is the great leader of the spiritual forces marshaled under the banners of truth upon the Earth. In all their good works, which are so great and so many, good christians give Christ the glory, because, but for him, they would not have had the Truth, the Life,—the world was so dark, so ignorant. All the ancient civilizations upon the Earth,—and some of them were magnificent!—have perished, because they did not possess this truth and this spiritual life which Christ taught. There was a great deal of knowledge, but not love; there was a great deal of philosophy, but it was cold. There was mysticism, but it did not satisfy. Do you wonder, sir, that a world should love the man who brought love into that world,—who brought peace, good-will, to men?"
"No, no," said the Master, "I do not wonder. It is grand, sublime! And he gave his body to be destroyed by his persecutors, in order to prove to the world that there is a life higher than the physical, and indestructible,—and that physical death has no other agony than physical pain. Ah, I see, I understand, and I am not surprised that you call this man your redeemer! I think, my friend," p. 156 he added, "that you have now a civilization upon the Earth, which will not perish!"
After a moment, he remarked, turning to me with a smile, "We are not so far apart as we thought we were, when we first started out, are we?"
"No," said I, "the only wonder to me is, that you should have been in possession, from the beginning, of the same truths that were revealed to us only a few centuries ago, through, as we have been taught to believe, special Divine Favor."
"Say, rather, Infinite Divine Love," he returned; "then we shall indeed stand upon the same plane, all alike, children of God."
As we continued our walk, his mind continued to dwell upon the teachings of Christ, and he sought to make clear to me one thing after another.
"Pray without ceasing," he repeated, reflectively. "Well, now, it would be impossible to take that literally; the literal meaning of prayer is verbal petition. The real meaning is, the sincere desire of the soul. You are commanded to pray in secret, and God will reward you openly. Put the two together and you have this: Desire constantly, within your secret soul, to learn and to practice the truth; and your open reward shall be the countless blessings which are attracted to the perfect life, the inner life. 'Ask whatsoever you will, in my name, and it shall be granted you.' That is, 'Ask in the name of truth and love.' Shall you pray for a personal blessing or favor which might mean disaster or injury to another? Prayer is the desire and effort of the soul to keep in harmony with God's great laws of the universe."
As it had been in Thursia, so it was here; people came to see me from all parts, and there were some remarkable companies in Clytia's parlors! Usually they were spontaneous gatherings, p. 157 evening parties being often made up with little or no premeditation. There was music always, in great variety, and of the most delightful and elevated character,—singing, and many kinds of bands. And sometimes there was dancing,—not of the kind which awakened in De Quincey's soul, "the very grandest form of passionate sadness,"—but of a kind that made me wish I had been the inventor of the phrase, "poetry of motion," so that I could have used it here, fresh and unhackneyed. In all, there was no more voluptuousness than in the frolic of children. Conversation might be—and often was—as light as the dance of butterflies, but it was liable at any moment to rise, upon a hint, or a suggestion, to the most sublimated regions of thought,—for these people do not leave their minds at home when they go into society. And here, in society, I saw the workings of the principle of brotherly love, in a strikingly beautiful aspect. There was no disposition on the part of any one to outdo another; rather there seemed to be a general conspiracy to make each one rise to his best. The spirit of criticism was absent, and the spirit of petty jealousy. The women without exception were dressed with exquisite taste, because this is a part of their culture. And every woman was beautiful, for loving eyes approved her; and every man was noble, for no one doubted him.
If the sky was clear, a portion of each evening was spent in the observatory, or out upon the balcony, as the company chose, and the great telescope was always in requisition, and always pointed to the Earth!—if the Earth was in sight.
The last evening I spent in Lunismar was such a one as I have described. Ariadne and I happened to be standing together, and alone, in a place upon the balcony which commanded a view of our world. It was particularly clear and brilliant that night, and you may imagine with what feelings I contemplated it, being p. 158 about to return to it! We had been silent for some little time, when she turned her eyes to me—those wonderful eyes!—and said, a little sadly, I thought:
"I shall never look upon Earth again, without happy memories of your brief visit among us."
A strange impulse seized me, and I caught her hands and held them fast in mine. "And I, O, Ariadne! when I return to Earth again, and lift my eyes toward heaven, it will not be Mars that I shall see, but only—Ariadne!"
A strange light suddenly flashed over her face and into her eyes as she raised them to mine, and in their clear depths was revealed to me the supreme law of the universe, the law of life, the law of love. In a voice tremulous with emotion—sad, but not hopeless—she murmured:
"And I, also, shall forget my studies in the starry fields of space to watch for your far-distant planet—the Earth—which shall forever touch all others with its glory."
And there, under the stars, with the plaintive music of the Eudosa in our ears, and seeing dimly through the darkness the white finger of the snowy peaks pointing upward, we looked into each other's eyes and—"I saw a new heaven and a new earth."
THE END
LIGHTHOUSE
Because imagination sticks
get caught
settles in as we grow older
finally there is only
one long, silent hour
even if it lasts a day.
Have we been living
all our years for this?
It may be so.
It well may be
the size of life
is measured by the hours,
years and days it takes
for each of us to turn
within the circle
of the slowest dance.
Where then and why
how does the eagle
or the falcon fly ?
And if the rabbit runs
does he run forward
or run back?
The eagle
and the falcon too
are foragers,
but self-propelled.
Lucky rabbit
always running to its lair
and always, always
finding something there.
I think perhaps
that we are running, yes.
Always away and not toward.
I think that we are looking
not quiet for the end
but for a slow dance done
upon the killing ground.
The damage we inflict
in love or hate
or any other name it’s given
is usually beyond repair.
What then can we give
or promise one the other?
Ourselves ? We try,
but always we hold back.
More promises ?
So few are kept
that credibility
must now be stitched
or sewn together.
Finally, the answer
comes up once again,
we can offer one another
nothing but the rattle
of destructive words
a slow death
on the killing ground.
So much for love
and mornings.
- from "Coming Close To The Earth," 1978
On a day devoted to the energies surrounding a state of forgiveness, I'd like to share a way to forgive and forget without ever having to confront the offender in person. If old wounds are making it harder for you to move forward in your life than this would be the perfect day to realize that the pen really is mightier than the sword. Take a pen filled with red ink and write a letter to anyone who has harmed or wronged you in your life. Write everything you feel and whatever will offer you a release from this hostage situation. Don't worry about anyone actually seeing this letter because you're not mailing it. But write it as if you were standing in front of whoever hurt you, whether dead or alive. Purge, purge, purge, and then purge some more. When you are finished writing put it into a red envelope and place in anywhere inside the 'Family/Friends and Ancestors' area. Put a healthy and flowering green plant on top of it and leave it there for 27 days. On the 27th day, take the letter outside and burn it, envelope and all, allowing the smoke to blow your pain away. As soon as the letter is completely burned, state aloud nine consecutive times that you forgive (insert name here) and release any pain previously associated with this grievance. That's it, but, boy oh boy, is it ever enough!
Blessed Be!!!!!
SpiritWitch)O(
JUST GOTTA SAY THAT JOURNEY IS PLAYING HERE AT OUR UNO LAKEFRONT ARENA ON SEPTEMBER 26 AND MY FRIEND KAREN IS TREATING ME TO THE CONCERT AS AN EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT....WOOOHOOOO. I STASHED SOME TICKET INFO AS THEY ARE ON SALE FOR OUR CONCERT TODAY.
"DON'T STOP BELIEVING'.....XOXO
“Hope is one of the greatest gifts we have been given. It carries no price tag but its value is priceless. We cling to it when the future looks uncertain and praise it when things turn out better than we could have ever imagined. Hope is the foundation on which we build our dreams and aspirations. It has been the cornerstone upon which ordinary people have accomplished extraordinary things.”
