Kundalini Splendor

When angels appear unexpectedly:

This late afternoon I had tea with a friend at
a nearby shopping center.  As it grew dark, she left
to walk home, and I waited to call a cab--but when I
reached for my cell phone, it was nowhere to be found.
Great, I thought.  Here I am in this half deserted shopping
center, with no cell phone, at a location too far to walk,
and to add insult to injury, I realized I really needed a
bathroom.  But where would I find one?

I saw a grocery not far away and decided to try there.  As
I stepped in the door, someone called my name.  It was
a person I had met earlier in a workshop, who recognized
me although frankly I did not recognize her.  When I asked
her if there was a restroom in the store, she guided me to
the right location.

And then, believe it or not, she was happy to take me
home.

This event would not seem so remarkable had I lived in
in this city longer and built up a large selection of friends,
But the truth is, I know relatively few people here, and
almost never meet anyone I know in public.

Thus she became my good angel.  I might add it was
in fact a delight to get to know this woman better on the way home.  And
it was her birthday, so she was happy to run into me.
Miracles do happen, I believe.

Dorothy,

I'm honored to be hosting one of my favorite speakers Andrew Harvey tomorrow on a free call event dedicated to the majestic life and teachings of Rumi, who holds vital mystical insights for our time.

Register here for: Rumi's Renaissance: How His Wisdom Can Liberate Your Soul and Our World

Andrew's depth of scholarship (40+ books on world mystical traditions, including several on Rumi) combines with a love-saturated understanding of the mystical initiations that Rumi underwent to birth his ecstatic poetry.

If you've ever had one of Rumi's poems stop you in your tracks with its raw, naked beauty and penetrating truth and then wondered about the life and deeper messages of this celebrated man, this is the call event for you.

And if you haven't, then you simply MUST know about this mystic and Andrew is an extraordinary guide.

Simply put, there's no more important spiritual poet for our day than Rumi and no other living mystic-scholar who can bring alive his messages for your soul in such a riveting, heart-expanding way.

As we traverse a time of profound Shift and considerable challenge in our world, Rumi's words offer a roadmap for initiating ourselves through the Dark Night and into a truly sacred view of our lives.

The event is sure to be elixir for your soul.

For me, taking a full semester course with Andrew on Rumi was one of the greatest gifts of my graduate studies, activating in me a new level of understanding the heart path and the way of passion that Rumi and other Sufi poets have blazed for us.

I'm thus particularly delighted to share that same experience of Rumi, seen through Andrew's eyes, with you for free.

Come and dance in the ecstatic fire of divine love with us here: Rumi's Renaissance

And even if you can't make it live, do sign up for the recording, which is guaranteed to be truly inspired.


  Enjoy!
Stephen
p.s. Here's another Rumi poem that I love (and if you love it as well, do join us tomorrow):

One Whisper of the Beloved

Lovers share a sacred decree -
to seek the Beloved.
They roll head over heels,
rushing toward the Beautiful One
like a torrent of water.

In truth, everyone is a shadow of the Beloved -
Our seeking is His seeking,
Our words are His words.

At times we flow toward the Beloved
like a dancing stream.
At times we are still water
held in His pitcher.
At times we boil in a pot
turning to vapor -
that is the job of the Beloved.

He breathes into my ear
until my soul
takes on His fragrance.
He is the soul of my soul -
How can I escape?
But why would any soul in this world
want to escape from the Beloved?

He will melt your pride
making you thin as a strand of hair,
Yet do not trade, even for both worlds,
One strand of His hair.

We search for Him here and there
while looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side we ask,
"O Beloved, where is the Beloved?"

Enough with such questions! -
Let silence take you to the core of life.

All your talk is worthless
When compared to one whisper
of the Beloved.

Ode 442 translated by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi

 


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The Shift Network 101 San Antonio Rd Petaluma, California 94952 United States

Dear Friends,
I am forwarding this announcement to you, mainly because it relates to my remarkable friend Patricia, who is perhaps the most unusual person I have ever met.  She is the friend who set up this site for me years ago and she is the person to whom the site is dedicated.  She is seriously impacted by her MS, yet she is certainly one of the most creative and exuberant people I know.  She has just finished --after 5 years--the book she describes here--and--although anyone is welcome to contribute to the "Kickstart" fund she mentions, it is mainly to share her video piece that I am sending this to you.  You can click on the site below to see and hear from this truly unique woman, who is leaving next week to travel to Belgium to work with the printer on the final copy of her book.
Love all around,
Dorothy

Begin forwarded message:

From: Patricia Lay-Dorsey
Date: September 26, 2013 10:40:41 AM MDT
To: Patricia Lay-Dorsey
Subject: my book - press release & Kickstarter campaign

My dear friends and colleagues,

As most of you know, since 1988 I have been working on a self portrait project called Falling Into Place. Over the past five years, images from Falling Into Place have been seen in personal presentations, print magazines, gallery and museum exhibits, online websites, blogs and ‘zines. Falling Into Place has won international awards and is in the process of being published as a book by Ffotogallery in Cardiff, Wales with a projected release on November 23, 2013. That is the date Fovea Exhibitions in Beacon, NY will be hosting our Book Launch featuring an exciting collaborative slideshow by Patricia and electronic music by DJ illich Mujica of Brooklyn, NY. Of course I'll be there to sign copies of the book too!



After months of long-distance collaboration between my publisher David Drake, UK based book designer Victoria Forrest and me, the book Falling Into Place is now ready to go to press. As you can imagine, printing and distributing a photography book in today's market costs money. We are fortunate that Ffotogallery and a generous donor who asks to remain anonymous have already raised $15,000. We just need $5000 to complete the job. And that is why we have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $5000 by October 25th. For Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects like mine, requires that you meet your goal within 30 days or none of the pledges will be collected. So time is of the essence. If we exceed our goal of $5000, that will allow us to distribute the book more widely to schools, disability organizations, rehabilitation centers and more.

I invite you to join the community that is forming to see that the book Falling Into Place gets out into the world where, hopefully, it can raise awareness of what life is like as seen through the eyes of a person with a disability. Please read the following press release by Ffotogallery to see what we hope this book will offer to the world. They say it better than I ever could.

To view my video (created by David Snider of the The Photography Channel-TV), read the introduction (written by Ffotogallery's Anne Siegel), see the rewards (yes, rewards!) and make a pledge if you wish, please click on the link below:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2074170015/falling-into-place-a-photography-book-about-living

I thank you for considering this request to become a financial supporter of my book Falling Into Place by contributing to my Kickstarter campaign. As they say, it takes a village...


With warm wishes,
Patricia

Patricia Lay-Dorsey
Website: http://www.patricialaydorsey.com
Email: playdorsey@comcast.net
Mobile: 313-410-0454
Skype: patricialaydorsey
Instagram: patricialaydorsey
Detroit, Michigan USA

.................................................................................................................................



FFOTOGALLERY PRESS RELEASE

27.09.13



Falling Into Place Kickstarter

A photography book about living with MS

Ffotogallery, the national development agency for photography in Wales is collaborating with Detroit based photographer Patricia Lay-Dorsey to produce a unique publication Falling into Place. The book is a legacy project of Diffusion 2013, the first biennial Cardiff International Festival of Photography.

Lay-Dorsey was diagnosed with chronic progressive Multiple Sclerosis in 1988, and in 2008 began taking daily self portraits with the intention of showing from the inside the day-to-day life of a person with a disability. The photographs chronicle the struggles and achievements of the artist as she learns to accept the limitations of her body and celebrate her abilities rather than her disability. Taken together, the images build a compelling narrative about the artist's daily life which is both moving and offers a fascinating inside perspective.

Designed by Victoria Forrest, the hardback publication includes 50 colour plates and with an initial print run of 1000 copies. The book also contains texts by David Alan Harvey, Magnum photographer and Burn Magazine Editor, and David Drake, Director of Ffotogallery and Diffusion.

As well as being a beautiful document in its own right, Falling Into Place is an invaluable resource which the artist hopes to be able to distribute to schools and and disability rights organisations in the UK and USA. In order to guarantee this, Lay-Dorsey and Ffotogallery have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help contribute towards the printing and distribution costs of the publication. The campaign is aiming to raise $5,000, which, when added to the $15,000 contribution that Ffotogallery has already raised, will guarantee worldwide distribution of the publication.

“Ffotogallery is very proud to be publishing Falling into Place. In these self portraits Patricia has succeeded in producing an eloquent illustration of a life lived with disability, which will resonate far beyond the usual photographic audience.”

David Drake, Director of Ffotogallery.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2074170015/falling-into-place-a-photography-book-about-living

The publication will be launched on 23 November 2013 at Fovea Exhibitions, Beacon, New York, USA, prior to worldwide distribution.

For further information please contact Rebecca Thomas at info@ffotogallery.org or 029 2034 1667.



Notes to Editors:

Ffotogallery

As the major force for contemporary photography in Wales, Ffotogallery is recognised as the forum for contemporary debate and a focus for new developments in British and international photographic art. As a national organisation, its view is naturally outward looking, with an exhibition programme featuring photographers from Wales and the rest of the world. Ffotogallery seeks to widen its range of influence through touring exhibitions, collaborations with other organisations and galleries, through publications, and an expanding education programme.  In 2013 Ffotogallery launched Diffusion, a new biennial Cardiff international festival of photography, which takes place in venues across Wales’ capital city.

www.ffotogallery.org



About the Artist

Born in Washington, DC in 1942, Patricia Lay-Dorsey brings her training as a social worker (MSW, Smith College School for Social Work, 1966) and over three decades as a visual artist to her work as a photographer.

Patricia’s self portrait project, Falling Into Place, was awarded 3rd prize in the 2010 FotoVisura Grant for Outstanding Personal Photography Project. It took a 1st prize award at the 2013 Photo Annual Awards in Prague and is being exhibited during the summer of 2013 in the Final Wall Gallery Exhibition in Teplic, Czech Republic.

Falling Into Place had solo exhibits at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts (January 17-March 3, 2013), and at Fovea Exhibitions in Beacon, New York (April 13-July 7, 2013). It has been featured in Newsweek Japan and New Mobility Magazine and on the New York Times Lens blog, PDN Photo of the day, Visura Magazine and Burn Magazine, among others.

Patricia Lay-Dorsey’s website is http://www.patricialaydorsey.com

I wrote the following poem, which will be included in the book:



The Photographer
(for Patricia)

She has transcended body,
left it behind.
She lives in a brain-ferment,
a buzzing hive of mind,
a tossing sea of perception.

She gathers fragments
of the presented world
and translates them
into a new medium,
a cosmos of images
held in a different frame.

In this uncovered order sun
and darkness meet,
old and unaccustomed bleed into
one another's space.

She is the eternal creator,
eyeing, composing, unmaking,
turning life over
into new soil, new beginnings,
unexpected revelation.
 

Aimless Love

This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor's window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust, no slam of the door --
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor --
just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

- Billy Collins

This has long been one of my favorite poems by Billy Collins.  In it, he abandons his usual sardonic and even sarcastic style for an "open heart" admission of a state of boundless love for the universe and all in his surroundings, no matter how minor or trivial.  Remarkably, his vision of his world as beautiful and demanding devotion is similar to that of many saints or in fact any of us who undergo profound inner spiritual transformation.  In that state of consciousness, everything draws us with its own hidden beauty, and we feel, rightly, that we and it are one.

Collins compares (correctly) this way of perceiving to the tempests and trials of human lovers, where emotions and resentments rule.  He calls his poem "Aimless Love," for as a "nonbeliever" (I think), he is unable or unwilling to connect his own experience with a divine source.

For many of us, this state of unconditional love and merger with all that surrounds us is the ultimate gift of the mystical experience, for it connects us in the most profound way with "heaven on earth."

Here is a quote from John Blofield ("The Secret and Sublime") which describes this kind of awareness:
(For the sage) "hand in hand with anxiety and fear, ugliness is put to flight.  Gems sparkle on dusty roads, puddles appear as pools of lapis lazuli, tough weeds acquire fragile beauty, dung takes on the charm of delicately mottled amber."

Exit Signs

Wherever I am I notice exit signs.
(Most seem to be printed in TIMES CAPITAL.)
I particularly like the lighted ones,
even though they can distract you from the movie.
The green ones are the most common,
although there are a fair number of red ones.
Once in a great while
you can see a luminous blue one,
glowing like a sapphire in the dark.
Even printed paper signs taped above a doorway
give me a warm feeling.

I must admit, though, that doors saying
“Emergency Exit Only!” give me pause.
When you open them, all kinds of things happen:
lights flash, bells and sirens go off
and people get very upset.
Sometimes they yell at you or
threaten to eject you from the premises.
I open them anyway.

But my favorite exit sign
is the story of Shakyamuni
who planted himself under the bo tree
vowing to sit until he awakened -
and kept his vow!
That one shines like a beacon
through the darkest night.

- Larry Robinson
_______________________________________________
PoetryLovers mailing list
PoetryLovers@lists.sonic.net
http://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/poetrylovers

Soul of a Real Lover

The soul of a real Lover spurns all animal fodder,
Only in the wine of bliss can his soul find peace.
Through the Grace of Shams-ud-Din of Tabriz, you will possess
A heart at once drunk and supremely lucid.
Love is here like the blood in my veins and skin
He has annihilated me and filled me only with Him
His fire has penetrated all the atoms of my body
Of "me" only my name remains; the rest is Him.

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi
(tr. Andrew Harvey)

(Somehow, I cannot resist a poem from Rumi that describes the condition of DIVINE LOVE  which brings us into a state of heavenly bliss.  Even when we do not experience this state as a somatic experience, we know what it means to be "drunk on
God."  Sometimes those overcome with such intense ecstatic feelings cannot even move by themselves or speak coherently.  When one great saint attempted to explain what divine ecstasy was, he himself fell into rapture, and had to be assisted across the room.

I feel that this experience is available to all of us, under the right conditions.  However, if we are not fully prepared--physically, spiritually, emotionally--the result can be the opposite of what we are seeking.

In this poem, Rumi speaks of his own beloved Shams (his teacher and possibly his lover) as a "stand-in" for God.  Anyone who has felt the extreme bliss of Kundalini will recognize what it means to say "His fire has penetrate all the atoms of my body" as well as "Love is here like the blood in my veins and skin."  These are strong metaphors, but when one is "under the influence" of divine Love, such is the feelings that are aroused.  And even when such responses diminish over time, we have the sweet memory of earlier moments when we were so deeply moved.

(Portrait of Rumi from internet)
  

September 2013

Awakening Kundalini: The Path To Radical Freedom
Dear Friend

Over the years I've been asked to lecture on the power of meditation and yoga to people from every imaginable background in settings ranging from universities and medical schools to corporations and even prisons. The current scientific research confirms many of the potent health effects of these practices, even if such studies aren't able to peer into the real depths of transformation that these disciplines and their underlying power aim at.

The great news is that the research has served as a bridge for engaging many people who otherwise would not have taken these traditions seriously. I began teaching yoga and meditation about 40 years ago and at that time the research wasn't there to draw on. Now, due in no small part to the high quality scientific studies, these ancient practices are promoted in articles in the Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, US News & World Reports, The New York Times and countless other mainstream forms of media.

The power that underlies the practices from many meditative and spiritual traditions is known in yoga as Kundalini. Depending on the tradition it is also called the Divine within, the Christ within, and many other names - Holy Spirit, Shekinah, bodhicitta, the Great Mother, Kali, Kwan Yin and countless more. This power continues to be shrouded in mystery, even as some of its names become more familiar. It is further cloaked by ignorance, misunderstanding and misinformation. This innate power that is tapped into through meditation, yoga, prayer, chanting and other practices, is the unbounded power of Consciousness that can give you the direct experience of your highest nature and empower you to fully realize the meaning and purpose of your life.

Tami Simon, the generous publisher of Sounds True, and her wonderful staff, worked with me to produce a new book, Awakening Kundalini: The Path To Radical Freedom, which will be released on October 1st. In this work I draw from ancient wisdom traditions, including Buddhist, Hindu and yogic teachings, in addition to modern neuroscience and archetypal psychology, to enable readers to understand the profound depth and breadth of who they truly are and the infinite power of the Divine residing within them as Kundalini. This book, along with the 7.5 hour audio CD program of the same name, gives detailed instruction and guided practices for awakening or furthering one's process of unfolding Kundalini, the sublime power underlying meditative and yogic practices.

Many people contact me from around the world who have had transcendent experiences, awakening experiences, and disruptive experiences of various forms of energy moving through them as they engage in yogic or meditative practices. This new book and the audio program released last year are designed to help people understand and integrate the transcendent and spiritually transformative experiences they are having or are seeking. It gives practitioners of all meditative and spiritual traditions a glimpse of the power and the glory, yes, the glory! of who we are and what we are doing when we simply sit and breathe mindfully or do an asana.

Below is the opening invocation of Kundalini from Awakening Kundalini: The Path To Radical Freedom.

 Awakening Kundalini: The Path To Radical Freedom
 Lawrence Edwards, PhD

Shree Kundalini Invocation
by Kalidas

O Kundalini Devi,
though known by a thousand names
no one can merely summon you.
Yet, the scent of love from sweet ripe souls
instantly draws you near!

Dancing as bliss,
casting off sparks of infinite delight,
you set souls ablaze!
Ignite us like a torch
my Beloved!
Throw the sodden logs of mind and body
onto your conflagration of Love!
Release the light and life
hidden within us!

O my Beloved,
whether clothed in form
or moving through the universe unseen,
graceful Holy Spirit,
protector of lovers of the Divine,
You are inseparable
from the eternal One.
Embracing all seekers wandering the worlds
You usher them home
to delight in true freedom.
May we be worthy of your
boundless love and protection.

O my Beloved Kundalini,
awaken seekers to your sublime play
of hide and seek!
There's nothing You can't create!
You take forms that delude or enlighten,
lead us astray or draw us into your arms.
Delivering the fruits of our choices,
refining our discrimination,
You reveal the power you've given us
to create every reality.
Grant that we remain ever vigilant
of the power we wield
and guide us to use it only
in the service of love and compassion.

to read further click here

 Meditation Programs
 Anam Cara Meditation Foundation

Everyone is welcome to our non-denominational meditation programs. No experience is necessary.

Katonah, NY Monthly Meditation Sessions
Saturday Oct. 12th: 7-8:45 pm Fee: By donation. Suggested donation: $20
Location: Katonah Yoga is generously hosting us once again! We're delighted to be back at the Katonah Yoga studio with their expertly trained yoga teachers and great programs.
39 Main Street, Bedford Hills, NY 10507
Everyone is welcome!

For more information please visit our Events page (click here)

Eben Alexander, M. D., a neurosurgeon, has received much attention lately as the author of a book entitled "Proof of Heaven, A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife."  This book recounts his "visionary" experiences during the 5 or 6 days he was in coma and presumably unconscious.  He recalls traveling to an other worldly zone, moving alternately between heavenly and hellish regions, but ultimately regaining consciousness even when all hope for saving him had been given up.  The hospital medical staff (as well as his family) were in fact literally getting ready to pull the plug on him when he unexpectedly awoke and ultimately regained even his memories of his earlier time as a physician.

His book has sold well--it has been on the N. Y. Times bestseller list for many weeks and he has become famous (and presumably wealthier) as a result.  It has been hailed as especially significant since it is written by a scientist and thus offers insights that other scientists might accept as proof of life after "death."

However, his account has been challenged in some quarters--apparently his "coma" was drug induced by the attending emergency physician (not from the bacteria that had attacked his body), and, from time to time, when the drugs wore off temporarily, he returned (briefly) to a conscious state.  Thus some medical critics contend that his "memories" were, in fact, hallucinations produced by the overall effect of the drugs that were administered to him, and that his prefrontal cortex was not "dead" as he claims.

Alexander's sincerity is beyond question.  Like most of those who undergo "near death" encounters with another world, his experience has changed his life forever.

I am in no position to judge whether or not Alexander did in fact journey to "heaven" (or hell, as parts of his encounter suggest).  The book is an interesting narrative, written in simple terms that any capable reader can follow.

I do have a question concerning the "illumination" he brought back.  When he "returned" he found that he was in fact in love with the universe and all it contained.  He realized that heaven is in fact that realm where the concept that "God is love" is fully enacted.  Certainly, one would not quarrel with his profound insight--mystics and saints and others including "ordinary people" have been making such discoveries for centuries.  Again and again they remind us that love is the basis of the "god force," and that through  the cosmic field of love we are all of us united to the heavenly realms and to one another and all that is.  But Alexander writes as though he alone has had such an insight.  The result is that his revelation lacks the wider context needed to tie it into other human discoveries of the same essential truth.  What he tells us is in fact what many have known for countless eras.

I might add that Kundalini awakening is similarly profound and can also open us fully to the condition of love.  Love is the final reality, and we exist as a small but important element of its cosmic manifestation. You need not "die" to find "proof of heaven."

By now, the flood waters have receded a great deal--it seems that Boulder was spared the ravages of some of the surrounding communities.  This favorable result is said to be attributable to the efforts of a Colorado University professor of some years back, who saw that it was important not to allow the land immediately adjacent to the city (against the mountains) to become the prey of the developers, but to keep it in as pristine condition as possible.  Some neighboring cities were not so fortunate--the developers came in, had no restraints placed on their projects, and now the cities are devastated.

I went for a long walk today--and saw that indeed there was mud in the gutters, broken asphalt in the streets, and signs that the creeks had risen several feet above their normal level.  But on the whole, all is well and the damage to the city can be repaired.

The area affected by the flooding is now said to equal the size of Delaware--it is 200 miles from one end to the other.  Indeed, it is a "Biblical" disaster.

I find I feel lucky for small (or large) favors.  A friend took me grocery shopping yesterday and I stocked up fully.  Today I was able to purchase other "sundries" from
Target, the large shopping outlet about a mile from my house.  Little by little, things are
getting back to "normal."

One of my purchases I was especially grateful for was several packets of "stickums."  These are essential for me in order to prepare my next volume, which is to be entitled (at least for now)  "Living with Buddha, Poems Selected and New."  I am revealing this intention here in the hopes that doing so will inspire me to carry through on this project.  "Stickums" may seem like a minor concern, but if you run out when you are trying to assemble a "selected" volume, it can be extremely frustrating.  And--without a car--such items can be difficult to obtain.


When I existed

By Ravidas
(1398? - 1448?)

English version by Nirmal Dass

When I existed,
You did not.
Now You exist
and I do not:
as a storm lifts waves
from water --
still they are water
within water.

O Madho,
how can we describe
this illusion?
What we believe does not exist.

A mighty king sleeps
on his throne
and in his dream
becomes a beggar.
Seeing his kingdom vanish
before him
he greatly mourns --
such is our condition.

Like the tale
of the serpent
and the rope --
I know a little
of the secret.
Seeing many bracelets
we think gold has many forms --
but it is always forever gold.

In all things
exists the Lord,
assuming countless shapes;
in each pore he plays and sports.
Ravi Das says,
He is nearer than my hand.
All that comes to pass
is by His will alone.

(This poem expresses what we are told over and over in many ways--what we observe and imagine is simply maya--reality is covered by this veil of illusion--all is the god/goddess in myriad shapes and forms and we are part of the passing procession of images.  The serpent and the rope refer to an ancient tale of India, about a man who mistakes a rope for a serpent.  Thus do we mistake illusion for reality.
When we undergo Kundalini awakening, we experience the truth of the line "in each pore he plays and sports," and know that "reality" is very different from what we may have supposed.")

(Be dry and well and grateful, everyone!)

(poem and image from Poetry Chaikhana)
-- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

Orbs of Light have been reported by many in recent years.  Even pilots in WWII saw such orbs accompanying their planes as they crossed the English channel to bomb targets on the continent.  Such orbs have shown up on grave sites of those recently dead. And in the new book called "Proof of Heaven," Eben Alexander describes such orbs which he saw during his own near death experience.
I have no idea what the orbs are, but do think they are an intriguing phenomenon.  Here is an excerpt from


The Melchizedek and Pleiadian Light Network
Subject: Orbs of Light Attunement and Telewebinar with Anrita Melchizedek
Date: September 17, 2013 9:32:58 AM MDT
To: Dorothy Walters
Reply-To: info@pleiadianlight.net

What follows this excerpt is a detailed description of the attunement process.


Orbs of Light Attunement

Mp3 download http://pleiadianlight.net/free-downloads [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I6jns-_kAae37x9BM3gnlj7cUJX6Njm9RXXRhSdmcrvey3O0iJJ-FbDVQJm8iWHip7t6rwdsDKPrw4qF9lVqRHfHjL7GlQYvLxEIJOLeKfVfgRMGM6XyT5vSmxlMXZqz-zCo2O6Utpo=]

You Tube http://youtu.be/LdazxqnLtFU [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I6jns-_kAafdSvrHAeqReQKvMr0exyUoVxICjlcyDfdRmbsOyM4_92Y7QRtua1FCWiCqK0WVwKMXeQHrzfULBEwhhZnNS44THvYQhlHPNSYyPr8Py5ch1fvcrVHI1txH]

In this Golden Age of Light, we now have the opportunity to deepen our connection
to the many Beings of Light around us that appear as Orbs of Light. These Beings
of Light are gifting us with the opportunity to experience their vibrational signatures
as we tune into these intricate designs of cosmic consciousness and spherical celestial
Light.

In their highest frequency, Orbs of Light hold the energy signature of the Ascended
Masters, Christed ET's, Angelic Beings, Nature Spirits and faeries, as well as aspects
of our own multidimensional Selves.

Further to this, many Orbs of Light are either discarnate Beings viewing earth prior
to incarnating or Souls leaving Earth most commonly in the form of a sphere, octahedron
or star tetrahedron. Their unique geometric design creates their own Merkaba Vehicles
of Light.

At the time of the Equinoxes, Solstices, Full Moon, New Moon and the many astrological
and planetary activities of Light, as we deepen our connection to one another in
Divine Love and One Unity Consciousness, we can amplify the frequency experience
of these many Orbs of Light.

Another way to amplify and experience, feel and sense these magnificent Orbs of
Light and Celestial Beings are through the creation of our own pyramids of Light.
The energetic pyramids of Light amplify sound and color signatures in a harmonic
resonance that assists us to tune into the Orbs of Light through the many sound
and color spectrum frequencies they bring forth to us in this Golden Age of Light.
For the Orbs of Light are here to activate our Light frequency; to inspire, enlighten,
transform and heal, offering their unique signature of Divine Love co-creatively
in acknowledgment of our own magnificence and Light.

As we tune into the higher dimensional frequencies of the New Earth Templates, and
the One Reality of All That Is as these sacred transfiguring Flames of Divine Love,
we experience a new language of communication through the energy of the Light Orbs,
allowing us access to various dimensions of Light and the Christed Timelines.

We are co-creating our Heaven on Earth, and doing so with the many Illumined Beings
of Light from On High that appear to us vibrationally; through our own gifts of
knowing, seeing,  sensing and through these many Orbs of Light.

(picture from Pam O'Sullivan, who took it after a sweat lodge--google Orbs of Light to see more examples)

Apparently the worst is over, at least in this part of the state.  I am still safe and snug, but the overall damage left (in the area) from the raging waters is tremendous--hundreds still waiting for rescue, hundreds evacuated (as many in one day as in the same period in Katrina), thousands of homes and businesses destroyed or severely damaged, hundreds of bridges swept away, roads lost, farms all but wiped out--the list continues.

Several have died and the list is still growing.

It is estimated that the financial losses will run into many millions and may be as much as a billion dollars.  The area involved so far is as large as the state of Connecticut.  The swollen rivers are now headed to the eastern part of the state, and residents there are bracing for a major disaster.  Some towns are still cut off completely from the rest of the world.

The sun is out and the next few days are predicted to be dry.  How welcome this turn in
the weather will be.

Someone just called to remind me that I had not posted on my blog today.  I think I got so involved in following the television images and stories that I forgot that others might be checking my welfare through the blog.

My news is still good--no real problems near where I live, still dry and with plenty of food and supplies.  The predicted additional rains did not fall nearby.  I have remained indoors again today, but somehow expect that by tomorrow things will be
clear enough to walk to a grocery or wherever.  I must say that I am hoping that the sun will return and give us a little boost that way.

The numbers of those who have been impacted are staggering--I am not good at remembering the figures, but I do know that they estimate that there have been more helicopter evacuations during this crisis than there were during Katrina.  Over 1,000 people still need to be evacuated, and it may take days to reach them.  One building in Boulder that was literally crushed by the water and mud is where I have gone for massage--it also contained an alternative health school.  A man standing by a raging river in a nearby town said that usually this was a small stream maybe 2 feet across--now it is over 100 feet wide.

This is an event that no one could have predicted (including the weather people) and now that it has happened it is hard to believe that such a thing could occur.  It will doubtless take years to repair all the damage to property and of course the loss of life will be a source of sorrow for a very very long time.

One good note is that apparently some of the rivers are going down rather than rising.   I am grateful to have been spared the suffering so many have endured.  Once again, we are reminded that our lives and our world can change in an instant, and there is really no way to foresee today what may happen tomorrow.

(The title of this post is taken from the book that Ram Das wrote after his stroke.  His earlier famous title was "Be Here Now."  His later book was called "Still Here.")

(image from internet)

Boulder and its neighbors are now trying to clean up and clear away the debris and other devastation left from the major flooding.  Although it has not rained yesterday or (yet) today, it is definitely threatening to do so and there is real concern that--since the ground is now saturated--the excess water will bring more floods.  The above picture illustrates the plight of many, including those whose homes and lives have been spared.  Many people are still unaccounted for.  Many who evacuated still cannot return to their homes. To say that this event was Biblical is an understatement.   There is general agreement that nothing of this magnitude has ever occurred in this area before.

We have been told by the authorities that it will take a lot of time to repair all the infrastructure that has been damaged--bridges and roads collapsed, canyon walls now unstable, structures no longer safe.

I am still quite safe (if there is such a thing).  I remain "high and dry" in my upstairs (3rd floor apartment) and like everyone else, follow the news constantly.

When I first moved back to Boulder in 2009, a friend told me that the downtown of the city was located on a "flood plain" and that this plain included the location of my apartment building.  The idea of a major flood seemed extremely remote at that time, so I
simply brushed aside her warning.  I see now that she knew whereof she spoke.

They told us to stay home today, but it wasn't raining and there was no apparent damage to my apartment nor its surroundings, so I decided to make a run to the grocery store, to stock up a bit more for the continuing crisis.  The sidewalks were clear and traffic was flowing (though just about half the usual number of cars were traveling this busy street).  I told myself that if I encountered obstacles, I could just turn around and come back home.

At first things seemed fairly normal.  I saw a young runner, a man on a bicycle and another on a skateboard.  True, the service station on the far corner was closed, but that was no reason for concern.

I then came upon a stretch of sidewalk totally covered with mud, but I circumvented it by stepping onto the grass along the side, wondering how the mud had gotten there.

When I reached my grocery store, I found that it was closed, and that a big vehicle with a giant hose attached was vacuuming out its interior.  It seems that during the night a great wave of water had come crashing into this area, sweeping many of the contents of this store from the front and out the back.  I was told that it might be many weeks before the store would be able to open again.

Reluctantly, I turned back home, stopping at the coffee shop next door to the grocery (it was undamaged) for some comfort food--a small poppy seed cake, a piece of spanikopia, and a small bag of chips.  I returned home and had my delicious lunch, thinking of all those who had lost everything in the flood, or who were still stranded and waiting for help to arrive.

I felt again extremely lucky to be spared any real inconvenience or loss before this Biblical event (it is now accepted that this is indeed a 100-year flood, and some even call it a 500-year flood).  I realized that in fact I have been quite near other such major disasters without experiencing any real loss or damage.   I was in San Francisco for the great earthquake of l989 but my house stood firm (it was old but built on bedrock, it seems.)  I was also in S. F. during the huge fire that devastated much of the Oakland hills, in which many lost their homes and some even their lives.  I was in Boulder when a major fire destroyed much property just west of the city, even threatening the west side of city.  But in none of these had I been a victim or even suffered property loss.

So I offer prayers for all those who were not so fortunate, and hope that things will improve soon--though more rain is predicted for the next few days, and there may be even more damage.

(image from internet)

Somehow, I missed it.  Friends started calling early this morning to see if I was O.K. and I (not having heard the news of floods in this area) assured them that nothing unusual
was going on in this vicinity.  Finally, I turned on the news and discovered that there were in fact flash flood warnings in many surrounding areas, and also some for Boulder itself.  I was amazed.  I had walked home from the downtown district yesterday (about a mile) and had had no problems other than a bit of water in the gutters.  But when I  saw the pictures of raging streams and creeks overflowing, I realized how serious the situation was.

Fortunately, nothing so threatening had occurred in my part of town.  I was (and am) snug and dry and am well supplied with food and other necessities.  So I am not in any way a flood victim, even though one of the many Boulder creeks runs right behind my building.  I have learned that this structure is in fact located in a "flood plain," and that another 100-year flood is overdue.  However, this present one was estimated at about a "50-year" flood, certainly serious but not totally devastating.

Some major damage and displacements have occurred, including some areas of nearby towns being evacuated and at least one community completely cut off for the time being.  Residents there are warned to boil their water and remain in their homes.  Boulder and other towns have set up emergency shelters.  Boulder announced that two that had been opened, and then authorities immediately warned citizens not to try to go there because of the unsafe road conditions.

One of the more dramatic incidents occurred when a small bridge outside of the city gave way, causing three cars to fall into the turbulent waters below.  All the passengers were,
fortunately, rescued without serious injuries.

As is so often the case, you must be careful about what you pray for. In this case, our long enduring drought was--finally--broken, but then we received too much of a good thing.

(Photo of cars in creek courtesy of Smugmug;  2nd photo from Daily Camera)

It has been raining in Boulder after a very long dry spell. Some of us are not sure what to make of this weird weather!

A Monday in May
by Ted Kooser

It rained all weekend,
but today the peaked roofs
are as dusty and warm
as the backs of old donkeys
tied in the sun.
So much alike are our houses,
our lives. Under every eave—
leaf, cobweb, and feather;
and for each front yard
one sentimental maple,
who after a shower has passed,
weeps into her shadow
for hours.

(photo found on internet)

Vulture (Rumi)

I don't need the primrose, or the blood of the vine;
I am drunk on negation, not on affirmation.
I am a hawk, I love to catch living prey;
I don't circle like a vulture around corpses.
Vulture, come here quickly! Dare to become a hawk!
Pitch "vulturehood" into the cauldron, become pure.
Then give up even the attributes of the hawk,
Soar higher and transform your essence.

translated by Andrew Harvey

The Poet's Hierarchy

                       for Galway Kinnell and
                        for the Poet Populist Movement


It's as if, here too, there's a hierarchy:
a Poet's Heaven, where the favored few
live, feeding on fame, Pulitzers and paychecks
on parties, applause and booksignings
in the midst of endless wine and crackers and cheese.
O the celebrity!  O the throngs!
And then there are the rest of us
also in love with the word, the mystery:
we dance, unnoticed, in the alleys of the world
we dance, barefoot, on the pavement, in mud --
we are the peasants, the gypsies, the beggars
dancing outside the Poet's Heaven,
dancing, nonetheless, under stars.

              - Pesha Joyce Gertler

(This poem should be dedicated to every poet, writer, artist, musician, or performer of any sort who follows his/her craft for the love of it, not for fame and money.  Someone remarked that the problem with becoming famous is that then you have to spend all your time being famous.)

(Image from wikipedia)

When I was a child, say about eleven years old, we studied a bit of Eastern thought in our history text.  That piece of writing told us that, according to Hindu belief "Brahman is Atman, Atman is Brahman."  I had no trouble understanding the underlying meaning of this assertion.  My young mind simply responded with, "Of course-this is obvious."  I assumed then (and still do) that the statement simply meant that I--in my spiritual core (Atman)--was one with the "infinite consciousness" (Brahman, Oversoul, Creative Essence, Ultimate Reality, God/Goddess)  of the universe.

I often sensed the truth of this notion when I was out in nature, for then something quite remarkable often happened.  I felt a strange shift into a sense of oneness with all that surrounded me.  The world seemed beautiful, and I fell into a delightful state of joy to be part of it.  I now realize that I was indeed a "nature mystic," and that these early experiences were forerunners of other, more dramatic encounters with expanded consciousness latter on.

A few years later I found a thought similar to the Hindu belief expressed in Tolstoy's pronouncement, "The kingdom of God is within you."  And since then I have encountered the same idea expressed in countless ways in myriads of texts.  This, I think, was not only the expressed wisdom of the ancients, but it has become the transformative discovery of our own time:  that "God/Goddess" (however defined) is not an entity that exists outside the self, but is contained within our very own natures, for we are inextricably united-- we are one and the same inseparable reality.  We ourselves are merely the unique expression of that vast, insuperable, indefinable essence, and thus we exist only by right of our divine connection.  Apart from our role as particles in the body of the inscrutable, we are, in fact, nothing at all.  And all our strivings after things and power, money and conquest (whether sexual or otherwise) diminish us and lead us far astray from our true natures.  We become lost in what Bunyan rightly called "Vanity Fair," slaves to false values.

Kundalini, in its highest form, reminds us of who we truly are, providing us with rapturous reminders of our actual nature, individual expressions of the sacred energies that inanimate the cosmos.  In this state of union, we know with certainly that "Brahman is Atman, Atman is Brahman."  No words or arguments are needed to persuade us of this self evident truth.  We cannot ague with what our bodies (our subtle bodies resounding through our physical bodies) are telling us.  Even though such transcendent states may not last continuously, they afford insistent reminders of the "enlightenment" state, the ultimate realization of divine connection.

(photo of "Begonia" by N.M. Rai)

How much did Buddha charge?

Recently, I saw an ad for a meetup here in my area, which promised to give you a method for instant enlightenment.  In order to receive this practice, you were required to
"take refuge" in a certain rimpoche of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  In order to take
this "refuge" you must pay a fee of $20.00.  This assessment led me to wonder, "How much did Buddha (or Jesus) charge for their services?"  And, if spiritual teachers demand monetary compensation for their wisdom and "transmissions," what are the latter really worth?  Are these authentic teachings, or merely another commercial ploy?

As for instant enlightenment, I do not personally know anyone who would claim enlightenment as a permanent state.  I agree with what a friend of mine said the other day,"You may experience a brief enlightenment state, but it doesn't last.  You come back and discover that you are the same old flawed being (nerd) you were before."

The practice that was promoted on the announcement was called "Phowa"--this may be a very powerful technique, but somehow I doubt that this or any technique can produce "instant enlightenment."

The road to "enlightenment" is rough and rocky.  It contains many shocks and setbacks, many steps forward followed by many reverses.  This mountain is not for the shallow aspirant or the faint of heart.  Much of it you must climb on your hands and knees.  To claim otherwise is, in my view, "false advertising."  My advice is hang onto your $20 (or whatever fee is demanded) and continue your progress in a humble, serious way.

Graces will come, but perhaps in small increments--and even if you should experience the "lightening stroke of awakening," do not imagine that you have reached a permanent condition. You may have been granted a glimpse of the ultimate, and that glimpse may include the bliss of Kundalini as well as the profound awareness of how little, after all, our "ego selves" matter in this world, even though, for the moment, you are granted the rapture of knowing that your spirit and the divine are one.  Be grateful for what has been given, but do not swell with pride on what may, after all, be ephemeral, not permanent.


AND EVEN THEN

And if, say, one day
you reach the summit of the holy mount
and are there shattered utterly by light,
even then,
you must  go on
not like a saint spiraling upward,
delicate feet barely tracing
invisible arcs of air,
but back once more
at the granite foot,
the rubbled start of it all
where you join again the struggling band,
pilgrims climbing together
on hands and knees.

Dorothy Walters
from A Cloth of Fine Gold, Poems of the Inner Journey 

from the Poetry Chaikhana --

The Good Darkness

By Hakim Sanai
(1044? - 1150?)

English version by Coleman Barks



There is great joy in darkness.
Deepen it.

Blushing embarrassments
in the half-light
confuse,

but a scorched, blackened, face
can laugh like an Ethiopian,
or a candled moth,
coming closer to God.

Brighter than any moon, Bilal,
Muhammed's Black Friend,
shadowed him on the night journey.

Keep your deepest secret hidden
in the dark beneath daylight's
uncovering and night's spreading veil.

Whatever's given you by those two
is for your desires. They poison,
eventually. Deeper down, where your face
gets erased, where life-water runs silently,

there's a prison with no food and drink,
and no moral instruction, that opens on a garden
where there's only God. No self,
only the creation-word, BE.

You, listening to me, roll up the carpet
of time and space. Step beyond,
into the one word.

In blindness, receive what I say.
Take "There is no good..."
for your wealth and your strength.

Let "There is nothing..." be
a love-wisdom in your wine.

-- from The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia, with Lectures by Inayat Khan, Translated by Coleman Barks

Here is Ivan Granger's commentary on this poem:

Wow. What is there to say about a poem like this? Just reading it works its alchemy on the awareness. But I'm a talkative fellow, so I think I'll say a few things anyway...

What is this "Good Dark"? Light is so often considered one of the attributes of the Divine, but we forget that dark too is also a metaphor for God. The Eternal is sometimes called dark because It is beyond the ability of the limited intellect to see. It is the realm where there are no longer separations; nothing is seen as separate from That. When the individual encounters such immensity, perception in a sense collapses; there is merging and awareness, but the faculty of seeing distinct objects and beings, even a distinct self, is overwhelmed. It can feel like a shining darkness.

So the Sacred Dark, the Good Dark, is God vast beyond comprehension, Being that gathers everything, even light, even perception, into Itself. This is the darkness where there is "great joy." This is the immense Mystery.

But what does Sanai mean when he says "blushing embarrassments / in the half-light / confuse"? And he follows with, "but a scorched, blackened, face / can laugh like an Ethiopian, / or a candled moth, / coming closer to God." What is he saying here?

First, why does a "blackened face" allow us to laugh and come closer to God? Because, if we understand the Divine to be that living, mysterious darkness, then when we become "blackened," we finally recognize ourselves as the same as that darkness. In the "half-light," where we are still distracted by our own faces, we are confused, more aware of ourselves than the holy mystery we touch. We become like a young lover too nervous and self-conscious to simply lose oneself in the embrace of the Beloved.

Sanai is telling us we must be burned like a "candled moth," "blackened" until we have no face of our own separate from the "Good Dark," and then we can melt silently into the darkness and mystery of the Divine One. This is what he means when he later speaks of "Deeper down, where your face / gets erased, where life-water runs silently..."

What do you think Sanai is talking about when he speaks of a place where "there's a prison with no food and drink, / and no moral instruction," but that place surprisingly "opens on a garden / where there's only God"?

The prison is for the false self, the little self, the ego. There is "no food and drink" to satisfy the ego's desires, not merely its sensual desires, but it's intellectual desires go unfed, as well. This is the place where concepts fail, where reality is no longer parceled out into dichotomies of good and bad, right and wrong, making even "moral instruction" a hollow thing. The ego-mind is no longer able to say 'this is separate from that.' In the ego's starvation, in the mind's deep stillness, reality is perceived as one, whole, unsegmented, pure. That "prison with no food and drink" thus leads you to the garden "where there's only God."

This awareness is what Sanai is asking of us when he tells us to "roll up the carpet / of time and space" (both belonging to the ego's attempts to segment reality), to "step... into the one word" (rather than the ego-mind's many words). This is what it means to say "There is no good..." (or bad, no division of opposites), "There is nothing..." (except the Divine Wholeness that is all things, emptying individual 'things' of their substance). If you can settle deeply into this awareness, with supreme poise and balance, then you will find yourself drinking the ecstasy of true love-wisdom!

(picture by N. M. Rai)



  

from DailyOm@dailyom.com

September 3, 2013

Gut Response
In Touch with True Emotions

by Madisyn Taylor

Our bellies can be wonderful monitors of our emotional health and the truth can always be found there.

So often, emotions that we long to express get stored in our bodies instead. The space where this most often happens is in our bellies. Rather than telling people, our even ourselves, the way we truly feel, we may stuff our true feelings deep inside of us, where they take up space until we are ready to let them go. Stuffing our feelings in our bellies may feel like the „safe‰ response, since we then don‚t really have to deal with our emotions. Yet, doing so can actually be detrimental to our emotional well-being and physical health.

One way to connect with and release your emotions is to do a focused exercise with your stomach area. Take a moment to center yourself with some deep breathing and quiet meditation, relaxing your body fully and turning off the chatter in your brain. With your right hand on your stomach, tell yourself three times: „Please reveal to me my true emotions.‰ Listen for the answers. Repeat the exercise as many times as you would like, allowing yourself to drop deeper into your body each time.  Notice any physical response in the stomach area, whether you have a warm, relaxed feeling in the middle of your body or if you feel tight knots in response to any emotions that do come up. You may even want to write down any answers that come to you. Remember that the body doesn‚t lie.

Releasing our pent up feelings from our bellies can prevent disease and allow us to live more authentic and expressive lives. Sometimes, if too much emotional energy builds up inside of us, a blowout can result that can cause discomfort. You can help to alleviate this compression by doing the same exercise and adding sound to your emotional release. The more guttural the sounds released through your mouth, the more emotions you are likely letting go. Releasing your emotions from your belly doesn‚t have to be painful and hard; rather, it can be organic and effortless. It‚s important not to judge whatever comes up for you. We tend to stuff our feelings in our bellies when we are ashamed of them or not ready to express them. There is nothing wrong with having feelings, whatever they may be. You can‚t help your feelings; if anything, you can help yourself by acknowledging the truth of your emotions so you can set yourself free.

More and more I am convinced that Kundalini possesses a "divine intelligence" that will guide you on your journey, if you will allow it to do so.  Sometimes all it takes is a gentle prodding to put you on the right track.
This morning I was in a bit of a hurry to get to the grocery store before the extreme heat of the day set in.  I needed to get food in the house, having been too sick for many days to venture out. So I "decided"  (I thought) to skip all but the most essential elements of my practice, and get going as soon as  possible for my customary walk to the store a few
blocks away.
But Kundalini had other plans for me.  Even while I was still getting dressed, I noticed soft stirrings inside--and these became ever sweeter, even as I rocked gently back and forth on my toes.  So of course I continued, and indeed had one of the loveliest practices
in many days, with much soft rapture flowing.
Indeed, I wanted to continue all morning, but finally tore myself away from this "divine love making" and went to the store like a good girl.
Then when I got back home, I found the following e-mail on my computer from a channeling group located in South Africa.  Their message seemed particularly apt for me, given my recent "purge" from food poisoning.  I find this group particularly fascinating, though, as always, I take all with a grain of salt.
And, once again, I wondered why it was necessary to undergo these often disturbing experiences in our "ascension" path.  And the answer, as always, was that in order to evolve, we must undergo constant "recalibration," and continue to undergo initiation after initiation, each one a marker on our never ceasing progression into the light.  Each new stage is a challenge, and, once balance is achieved as we integrate the new frequencies, we are made ready for yet another advance in this mysterious process. 


The Melchizedek and Pleiadian Light Network
Subject: The Seven Sacred Fires of Purification tele/webinar with Anrita Melchizedek
Date: September 2, 2013 10:26:15 AM MDT
To: Dorothy Walters
Reply-To: info@pleiadianlight.net

The Sacred Cosmic Fire of Purification ~ Message from the Elders             Mp3
download http://pleiadianlight.net/free-downloads [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e

Welcome, sweet ones, it gives us great pleasure to be with you in this Now in this
month of September as you experience the sacred Cosmic Fire of Purification. In
its simplest form, sweet ones, this is the expansion of Light within the physical
body, or rather, an Initiation of Spiritual Light, which allows you as the physical
vessels of Light, as these sacred transfiguring flames of Divine Love, to carry
out the Will of the Divine to co-create Heaven on Earth ~ and it is the intention
of God's Light that directs and guides you in your everyday life ~ purifying the
physical, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual bodies.

So let us start, sweet ones, by surrounding you now in these beautiful copper-gold
and pink-gold Flames of Purification. The Flames of Purification have been experienced
through the four elements of air, water, earth, and fire, and through each religion
for eons of time, and it is these rituals of purification that take you into a deeper
sense of your connection to the Divine, sweet ones. And over this month of September
you can bring a focus to a greater level of your own purification, to a greater
level of the spiritual Light that you hold within your bodies as these transfiguring
flames of Divine Love. This purification process is experienced too through the
energetic cleansing of your homes, of the physical bodies through energizing food
and exercise, and of the emotional bodies through the removing of particular obstacles,
allowing you to go into the shadows as Source Light; allowing you to embrace the
shadow aspects of yourselves, allowing you to truly see with your Master Eyes,
as to what it is you need to shift and change within yourselves to create harmonious
and balanced relationships with those around you. It is a time too, sweet ones,
as you align deeper into your spiritual purpose, you do so with greater clarity,
you do so with deeper understanding, with compassion and with Love.

This month of September, from a ritual perspective of purification, starts through
Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Wednesday September 4th, and is amplified by the
New Moon on September 5th. During the 48 hours of Rosh Hashanah, individual and
collective destiny is planted in seed form and unfolds throughout the year through
the Spiritual Light of Mother/Father God in selfless service to the Divine. And
this energy of Purification, sweet ones, allows you to truly see this shift in consciousness
and change that is occurring on both a personal and planetary level.

(image from internet)

Now I have discovered that after all my speculation and theorizing, it was in fact food poisoning that I was suffering from.  My friend who ate the same lunch also had a reaction, only hers was not as severe as mine.  I finally feel o.k. (after 10 days of misery).

However, I still feel that the "highs" of Kundalini can bring on the "lows" of the body.  Only usually they are not this intense (as least not for me).  Each of us is different, and I
believe that we learn more about this mysterious process through sharing.  We do not simply reach a state of ecstasy and remain there.  We go up and down, experience bliss and pain, apparently in a process that never ends.  Yet for most of us, the overall result
is worth the difficulties that accompany the joy.