A Circle of Friends

A Conversation About Physics with Lisa Randall

2012-02-15T07:41:00.000-06:00

ACOF member, Dr. Horace (Hap) Crater, gave a fascinating talk at meditation discussion time last evening about dimensions, Big Bang, and black holes, along with his own theories as to how this might relate to reincarnation. Did I mention this was fascinating? It was!

Hap would like to share a video interview with Lisa Randall: A discussion about breakthroughs in particle physics with distinguished Harvard professor Lisa Randall. Randall provides an introduction to her theory that gravity is concentrated in a higher dimensional universe that is parallel to our own.

For those who missed it, Hap will offer his talk again this coming Tuesday.

Just Imagine --by Wayne Dyer

2012-02-08T13:18:00.000-06:00

Never, and I mean never, allow anyone else’s ideas of who you can or can’t become sully your dream or pollute your imagination. This is your territory, and a KEEP OUT sign is a great thing to erect at all entrances to your imagination. ~Wayne Dyer~

Your imagination is your own fertile field for growing any seedlings that you choose to plant for a future harvest.

You may have been told that you have always been a dreamer, as if this were a fault. I can speak here from experience. Family, friends, teachers, and even advisors frequently disparaged ideas that burned brightly in my imagination. I often heard comments such as, “Wayne, you’re such a dreamer. Get real. You are never going to make it as a writer, or a television performer, or a movie personality. Be realistic—we know what’s best for you.”

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Eckhart Tolle on Unhappiness

2012-02-07T11:12:00.000-06:00

Not all unhappiness comes from the pain body. A substantial amount of your unhappiness comes from the lack of Presence — living outside of the Present Moment, when you are not in alignment with the Now.

There are many indicators of this misalignment. One is when your experience of unhappiness is disproportionate to your situation or circumstances. It is an overreaction to the situation or circumstance. This is one of the easiest ways to recognize your lack of presence, even though everyone around you will have seen it before you did.

Native American Prayer --translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark

2012-01-30T08:06:00.000-06:00

Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota Sioux

"Oh, Great Spirit

Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world,

hear me, I am small and weak,

I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold

the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have

made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make me wise so that I may understand the things

you have taught my people.

Let me learn the lessons you have

hidden in every leaf and rock.

Mark Nepo: The One Conversation - OWN Super Soul Sunday

2012-01-26T10:28:00.000-06:00

In the interviews I've been blessed to have with Oprah, we seem to enter what I would call the "One Conversation," the one ongoing story of how we spend our time on earth. All our lives contribute to this conversation. All our stories contribute to the one ongoing story. Let me share some reflections on where that conversation has been taking me.

I keep returning to the ever-present riddle, that being who we are is the necessary adventure. It unlocks everything, not because our self is so important but because our essential nature that our self carries is the immediate doorway to everything that is life-sustaining. We learn early on that being who we are means fending off unwanted influence without cutting ourselves off from the chance to learn from others. Regardless of the culture we are born into, it isn't long after we arrive that everyone starts pointing and telling us where we need to be and what we need to do to get there. There's no time to really ask why. Soon, things happen and we are thrown off course and now there's all this effort to win their approval, no matter who "they" are. If lucky, love will distract us more than suffering. If blessed, we are broken of everyone's plans and regrets and thrown like a hooded bird into a sea of light. If trusting the fall, we find our wings.
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Dr. Horace (“Hap”) Crater Presents Series of Public Talks, Sunday afternoons in February from 12-2pm, Unity Church of Life, Murfreesboro, TN

2012-01-23T07:50:00.000-06:00

Dr. Horace ("Hap") Crater, President, SPSR

ACOF Member, Dr. Horace (“Hap”) Crater, will present a series of public talks Sunday afternoons from 12-2pm on 1/29, 2/5, 2/12, 2/19 at the Unity Church of Life, 130 S Cannon Ave, Murfreesboro, TN

For those of you who are interested Hap will be leading a series of discussion on the presentations that Stephen Hawking gives on two videos Into the Universe and Did God Create the Universe. The subject is Cosmology and the Creation of the Universe.

Bio for Dr. Horace Crater (President, SPSR)

Ph.D. Yale University, 1968. Professor of physics at the University of Tennessee Space Institute.

Member of the American Physical Society in The Division of Particles and Fields and Topical Group of Few Body Systems and Multi particle Dynamics.

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Tender Photos Unearthed from a Turbulent Time --by Sarah B. Weir (HBO to Air Story on Landmark Civil Rights Ruling February 14)

2012-01-20T13:48:00.001-06:00

Some of our members are LGBT. Accordingly, when I read this story, I thought of them. We support Love, no matter the package in which it comes! May this article, describing Interracial marriage, only 54 years ago, as illegal in 15 states, help our friends who wish to marry "Keep Hope Alive"!
--ACOF Administration

Mildred and Richard Loving on their front porch,
King and Queen County, Virginia. April 1965.
Photo by Grey Villet

When Mildred and Richard Loving married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, they didn't think they were breaking the law. Both were from the small town of Central Point, Virginia. Mildred was of African-American and Native American decent and Richard was white. They did know it was illegal for them to marry in their state-as well as 15 others--which is why they left to tie the knot. Within a month of returning home, police burst into their bedroom in the middle of the night and arrested them under the state's anti-miscegenation law. They were sentenced to a one-year in prison term that could be suspended if they left Virginia.

Peggy, Sidney, and Donald Loving playing,
King and Queen County Virginia. April 1965
Photo by Grey Villet

Banished to Washington, D.C., Mildred Loving, who did not consider herself a political person, wrote about her plight to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The American Civil Liberties Union took up the case and brought it all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In 1967, in a landmark Civil Rights ruling, the court struck down America's laws against interracial marriage.

ACOF Celebrates the Year of the Dragon this Saturday!

2012-01-16T07:55:00.001-06:00

To Regularly Attending ACOF Members: Please view your invitations for details!

Quietly centered is the way to leave 2011 behind and enter into 2012, the time of the Dragon! The Dragon brings with her good luck and is, in fact, the symbol of good fortune in Chinese Astrology. The Dragon is bigger than life. Now is the time, the Dragon reminds us, to look towards transformation.

This is also the year of the WATER Dragon. The Dragon herself is fixed, and the water element brings about the flow. As you know, 1996 to 2011 was a long period of lessons and learning, the Dragon marks the beginning, transformation, the ability to move forward with these learned lessons in hand, enjoying the flow of creativity in every manner.
May we all celebrate the entrace of the Dragon. It is an exciting time!

Soul-Talk: What Happens When God Closes a Door? --by Russell Bishop

2012-01-12T09:21:00.002-06:00

Ever heard or even repeated that hackneyed phrase, "Whenever God closes a door, he opens a window"? While I haven't always found that window when the door closed in the past, some part of me has clung to that belief over the years. In my recent experience, I have discovered that it just isn't true: He doesn't merely open a window, He actually opens a universe.

I'm pretty sure this will rile a few folks out there, and if you find yourself to be one of the riled, maybe you're not the one to be reading this article. Then again, it could be that the riled are the ones most in need of this frame of reference into the twists and turns of life. In order to find the power in this principle, you need to keep your mind open. Perhaps you have heard this tired cliché: "Minds are like parachutes -- both function best when open." If you can keep your mind open just a bit, you may discover an enormous source of solace and guidance in this simple yet powerfully revamped principle.

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WHERE IS GOD? --by Mark Nepo

2012-01-05T09:35:00.001-06:00

WHERE IS GOD?

It’s as if what is unbreakable—

the very pulse of life—waits for

everything else to be torn away,

and then in the bareness that

only silence and suffering and

great love can expose, it dares

to speak through us and to us.

It seems to say, if you want to last,

hold on to nothing. If you want

to know love, let in everything.

If you want to feel the presence

of everything, stop counting the

things that break along the way.

Full, Dark --by Stephen Jenkinson, MTS, MSW

2012-01-03T07:39:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I had a wretched autumn flu, meaning that kids have gone to school, swapped pathogens like playing cards and brought them home for all to enjoy. The fact that you've no school age kids at home doesn't save you. It didn't save me. Some well meaning neighbours lent me their social justice dvd library to get through my miseries. Watching the various Armageddons hour after fluish hour - not something I would recommend - I was reminded often that everything of merit is being dragged to the abyss in high gear. The prime adjective describing our time: Dark.

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Native American Prayers, for the New Year ... and Every Day --by Chief Seattle, Black Elk, and Tecumseh

2011-12-30T09:38:00.000-06:00

Photo by Edward Curtis

Prayer to The Four Directions - Chief Seattle

Great Spirit of Light, come to me out of the East (red) with the power of the rising sun. Let there be light in my words, let there be light on my path that I walk. Let me remember always that you give the gift of a new day. And never let me be burdened with sorrow by not starting over again.

Great Spirit of Love, come to me with the power of the North (white). Make me courageous when the cold wind falls upon me. Give me strength and endurance for everything that is harsh, everything that hurts, everything that makes me squint. Let me move through life ready to take what comes from the north.

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Are You a Reluctant Psychic? Learn to Trust Your Inner Wisdom --by Darrin Owens

2011-12-19T08:23:00.000-06:00

In an era of “seek and ye shall find” we are all in great hunger for something more. We attend self-improvement seminars, read spiritual literature, take a crack at yoga, attempt to eat better and try to create a better perspective on life, hoping that these acts of service will appease some divine universal force that will help us overcome our sometimes troubled waters. We do these “healthy” things for ourselves with the intent to be wholesome, but in the back of our mind we are hoping Fate will look down on us and say, “Ok, you ate some organic corn flakes, so we will let you have a day without famine.”

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The True Meaning of Christmas --from A Charlie Brown Christmas

2011-12-15T10:11:00.000-06:00

John Edward Appears on "Anderson Cooper"; Surprises Camera Crew With Readings

2011-12-13T14:45:00.001-06:00

ACOF Administration: We are currently learning at meditation how to work with our gifts, and I happened to see this Anderson Cooper program yesterday. It will be helpful for you to see how this information comes through as you work with your own gifts.

From Anderson Cooper's Website: During his readings, Edward says signals get crossed, and messages from anyone who’s in the area or in the room can come through. This is what happened when John was doing a reading with Anderson, the cameras were unexpectedly turned on a few of the production crew. John had not met either cameraman before the shoot. Take a look... Read more

Looking Deeply

2011-12-12T09:21:00.000-06:00

"To understand any living thing,

You must creep within

And feel the beating of its heart."

--W. Macneile Dixon

I See You --by Mark Nepo

2011-12-09T08:58:00.000-06:00

I See You!

I Am Here!

For centuries, African Bushmen have greeted each other in this way. When the one becomes aware of his brother or sister coming out of the brush, he exclaims, "I See You!" and then the one approaching rejoices, "I Am Here!"

This timeless bearing witness is both simple and profound, and it is telling that much of our modern therapeutic journey is suffered to this end: to have who we are and where we've been be seen. For with this simple and direct affirmation it is possible to claim our own presence, to say, I Am Here.

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The Wisdom of a Leaf: Thich Nhat Hanh --by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

2011-12-07T07:47:00.000-06:00

I was sitting with a friend recently who told me that he was resting in his backyard bringing mindfulness to the sounds and sights around him when he had an insight. The trees and leaves around him in some way were just like him. No, he wasn’t on any psychedelics or intoxicants, he just had this awareness that he was not really that separate from the nature around him.

In that moment he said he felt incredibly connected and the worries that had surrounded him before seemed to drift away as a feeling of belonging arose. Belonging is the essence of well-being.

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From DAILY OM: Respecting Wildlife; Open and Listening

2011-11-28T08:44:00.000-06:00

When in nature we often forget we are moving into another realm, one that asks us to drop our baggage and surrender.

For better or worse, much of the world we experience is dominated and controlled by human beings. We spend our days in houses, cars, and buildings, and inside these structures, we are in control. We assert our wills and manipulate our environment. Within the context of the human world, this is natural. However, we often carry this attitude with us into the world of nature. We forget as we enter the forest, or sit on the edge of a pond, that we are moving into another realm, one that asks us to drop our baggage and surrender to a different sense of order and meaning.

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Mystery of Dead Sea Scroll Authors Possibly Solved –by Owen Jarus; LiveScience.com

2011-11-22T10:12:00.002-06:00

A two thousand-year-old fragment from the Book of Tobit from the Dead Sea Scrolls

(Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

The Dead Sea Scrolls may have been written, at least in part, by a sectarian group called the Essenes, according to nearly 200 textiles discovered in caves at Qumran, in the West Bank, where the religious texts had been stored.

Scholars are divided about who authored the Dead Sea Scrolls and how the texts got to Qumran, and so the new finding could help clear up this long-standing mystery.

George Anderson & John Edward Explain How Messages Come Through

2011-11-18T11:28:00.001-06:00

George Anderson

John Edward

Moon of Longing --by Stephen Jenkinson, MTS, MSW

2011-11-13T14:52:00.001-06:00

Stephen Jenkinson, MTS, MSW

Because of a wet, cold spring, because everything went out too early, we didn't have bounty this year. But - and I don't really know why - we did have corn. And here is the marvel: our Blue Hopi corn, child of the desert, grew the best of all.

Corn, the faithful teacher, starts its towering life indestinguishable from grass, and it teetered this year on the edge of every too cold, too hot, too wet, too dry day. It's first emerald feathers made straight for the sky, tongueing as the young of every made thing does the starry, sunny udder in hopes that the old sky mother would let her milk rain fall. Against the odds the plants grew a foot, and then two. Gravity doesn't explain this, but soon thereafter, when the corn seemed certain it would make it, those same adamant leaves began bending to the ground, all but the topmost. As the summer went on the proud male of the corn went twelve feet and higher, but beneath it all the leave tips bent themselves groundward.

Istvan Fazekas presents The Three Pillars of Enlightened Consciousness

2011-11-06T15:19:00.005-06:00

Several of our group were fortunate to share time with Istvan Fazekas during the A.R.E. Retreat this weekend. We will be working to bring him to Nashville for a public talk in the near future. He is a dynamic presenter. In the meantime enjoy this teaching from Ish in 2009. Simply click on the link below his photo.
--ACOF Administration

Click Here for 2009 Talk

ISTVAN FAZEKAS has studied with yogis and Buddhist teachers for over sixteen years, melding Christian mysticism with Eastern traditions, somatic sciences, and energetic principles. This video is an excerpt from his presentation The Three Pillars of Enlightened Consciousness: Ancient Wisdom & the Body Temple recorded at the 2009 Ancient Mysteries Conference at Edgar Cayces A.R.E. in Virginia Beach.

He is the author of Edgar Cayce and the Yoga Sutra which brings classical ancient Eastern teachings together with modern metaphysical Western tradition and includes the wisdom from the Edgar Cayce readings, and The Alkalizing Diet on achieving the acid/alkaline balance that is ideal for keeping the body more energetic and much more resistant to viruses. Both are available at www.ARECatalog.com.

He is a popular speaker for A.R.E. conferences across America. To learn more, visit

www.EdgarCayce.org/conferences

Dream Analysis Tips from Edgar Cayce (Don't miss link at bottom: Edgar Cayce Dream Interpretation of the Revelation)

2011-10-20T11:04:00.014-05:00

Keep a notebook beside the bed. Record your dreams as soon as possible after waking.

Suggest to yourself every night as you fall asleep, "I will remember my dreams."

If you wake during the night, write down the main symbols, and the entire dream will usually come back in the morning.

Practice keen observation in your dreams through self-suggestion prior to sleep.

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A Message from Diane Ladd; "Enlightened," HBO at 9:30 PM PST

2011-10-20T07:49:00.001-05:00

Dear Members & Friends of Edgar Cayce's A.R.E.:

I want to take this opportunity to inform you about my new TV show, "Enlightened." It premieres on October 10 on HBO at 9:30 PM PST. It's a half hour comedy/drama that comes on right after Ted Danson's "Bored to Death." It stars my daughter Laura Dern as Amy and Luke Wilson as her ex-husband, and I play her Mom, Helen.

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What Autumn Teaches Us About Letting Go --by Dennis Merritt Jones

2011-10-19T08:31:00.001-05:00

There seems to be a kind of order in the universe,

in the movement of the stars and the turning of the earth
and the changing of the seasons, and even in the cycle of human life.

~ Katherine Anne Porter

Early this morning, I took my daily trek down to my meditation garden. It is located in the middle of a grove of fruit trees and includes pomegranate, orange, avocado, plum, apple and peach. It being nearly the middle of October, some of them are beginning to shed their leaves, which is natural for fall in Southern California. What took me by surprise were two peach trees standing not more than 40 feet from one another. One tree had lost every leaf on it and appeared to be preparing for winter's sleep.

Dogs Bring Balance to an Unbalanced Society --by Cesar Millan

2011-10-10T10:24:00.001-05:00

I often speak of how important it is to keep body, mind, and spirit in balance, but am often reminded of how unbalanced we have become as a society. Every time there’s morning rain in Los Angeles, traffic falls apart, for example. Living in big cities we can forget how to stay balanced and live in the natural world. My clients remind me constantly—or they wouldn’t be my clients. Some are Harvard graduates, but they can’t walk a Chihuahua. Because you need more than intelligence to create a connection with Mother Nature. Many of us have lost that connection and it is reflected in our animals. Dogs are our mirror and when they’re not following us it’s because we’re not balanced.

Being unconditional, that’s a dog. Humans are very conditional. Dogs, accepting. You can look horrible, but a dog will look at you like you’re the most beautiful human being ever, because what he’s looking at is your feelings. Dogs have integrity. But many humans measure integrity materially, with money. That’s how disconnected and unbalanced we have become.

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What an Oyster Can Teach Us About Life --by Dr. Jean Houston

2011-10-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

Have you ever gone oystering? It is a cold, clammy business. I once had the great pleasure and pain to go oystering in Maine. I was given a set of tongs to scoop oysters off the bottom of. These tongs were formidable, resembling two rakes attached to two long poles tht work like scissors to scoop up the oyster. In the freezing air I looked at the hands of the master oysterer, his hands like giant red claws, more lobster than oyster. I looked at my own hands and saw that they too were fair on the way to becoming like his. I valiantly worked the tongs, even in spite of the oyster man's rude sallies, "Yer as slow as molasses running uphill in January." Finally, after what seemed an age of trying, I managed to clutch an oyster in my tongs. The oyster man opened the bivalve creature and there mirabile dictuu, was a dinky, misshapen... something. "You got yerself a pearl, " he muttered in his broad Maine accent. "Not too bad for a first timer."

"But why is it so small" I asked.

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The Way You Sing It --by Gary Zukav

2011-09-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

~The late, great Michael Hedges - There will never be another like you~

A friend took a trip to New Orleans after Katrina. He is a jazz musician and singer. He has been most of his life, and he feels that jazz is the greatest thing that has happened in America. Playing in a club with local musicians, he was invited to join the second line of a funeral the next day – a gig that paid him $150, some food, and another chance to play the jazz he loves.

The first line in a New Orleans funeral is the mourners. They grieve, cry, and remind everyone of what is happening. The second line is the musicians. They begin the procession with a dirge, stopping at clubs and bars along the way where they are fed and given drink. As the procession continues, the dirge slowly morphs into an unabashed celebration. “It’s the same song!” he exclaimed.

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A Little Friday Fun! A Life of Illusion, Video w/and by Joe Walsh

2011-09-23T09:54:00.001-05:00

Joe Walsh - Life Of Illusion by jpdc11

The Surprise Party Grief Threw --by Alysia Reiner

2011-09-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

I am feeling fabulous. I am having the time of my life: starring in my first play in LA, guest starring on a great TV show at the same time, talking to the writer about making the play I am doing into a screenplay, my husband is on a great TV show, we have wonderful friends, family, life -- I feel on top of the world. Maybe I can have it all.

My Dad comes to visit. He complains of a backache. I take him to my fabulous massage therapist (who is even covered by health insurance), he is revitalized and we think nothing of it.

A week later, I am flying back to NYC to sleep in his hospital room for a few days before I bury him. He is 55. It's less than two weeks from diagnosis to death. Surprise!

From the moment my Dad died, from the moment I found out there was the possibility of his dying, there were many surprises -- years after, minutes after. The moments I was okay were as surprising as the ones that I wasn't.
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Stories on Kindness and Anger --from the Native American and Buddhist Traditions

2011-09-16T09:20:00.000-05:00

Deer Medicine -- A Native American Teaching as told by Joe Johnston

The story is told of a terrible monster that was angry and cruel to everyone. Its trick was to never attack first, but if attacked, it killed!

It was so mean, it provoked every animal into attacking, and in a fight it would kill them all. Even if they came in peace, it would be so mean to them, they got mad and attacked it. It killed many animals. Snake tried to poison it, wolf tried to tear it with its teeth, bear tried to hit it with its mighty paws. But the monster was so terrible it killed them all.

Finally, deer approached the monster with nothing but gentle kindness. No matter what the monster did or said, deer only responded with kindness and good will. The monster became madder and madder. Still, deer was gentle and kind. At last the monster became so angry, it attacked itself, and died.

The Gift of Anger; Turning Arrows into Flowers –A Story of the Buddha

A man of Brahmin-jat became enraged hearing of the Buddha’s teachings and by those coming into his fold. In anger he sought to confront the Buddha. The man raged and exhorted expletives at the Buddha.

Letting Go of The Ladder --by Lisa Ernst

2011-09-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

My dear friend, Lisa Ernst, Facilitator of One Dharma Nashville, wrote an excellent article that I have permission to share. This speaks beautifully to our meditation discussion last evening. I hope you enjoy this from a wonderful communicator and teacher. -ACOF Administration

"To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders" ~Lao Tzu

On a recent visit to Colorado, I enjoyed a hike with my two teenage nieces to a place outside of Boulder called Mattress Rock. My oldest niece, Mary Katherine, had recently spent the night camping at the top of this rock and she wanted to show us the view. When we arrived, I saw the top was quite high and completely inaccessible through climbing. But a ponderosa pine was fairly close to the rock, and my niece said that's how she and her friends had gotten up.

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Lessons From a Wheelchair: Treat Your Body With Compassion --Dan Gottlieb, Ph.D.

2011-09-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

The author, with his Grandson, Sam

It's been seven months since I last wrote a column for The Huffington Post. I've got a good excuse.

As my readers know, I've been in a wheelchair for 30 years, paralyzed from the chest down. And although I don't have use of my hands, I've always had good function in my arms. Seven months ago, that changed. I was going down a black unlit ramp in my wheelchair when suddenly my wheelchair took a tremendous lurch and I was flung forward into space. (What I couldn't see in the darkness was that the ramp ended in a step.) As I was thrust from my wheelchair, I landed on my head and neck, causing substantial injury.

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Eckhart Tolle on Peace After a Loss

2011-09-12T07:50:00.001-05:00

"A culture that denies death inevitably becomes shallow

and superficial, concerned only with the external

form of things. When death is denied, life loses its depth."

~Eckhart Tolle

Questioner: My sons drowned in the sea ten months ago. I did surrender, but when I felt the peace and calm coming over me, it felt wrong. It was not right to feel peace and calm with such a loss.

Eckhart Tolle: The natural way of being after death of a loved one is suffering at first, then there is a deepening. In that deepening, you go to a place where there is no death. And the fact that you felt that means you went deep enough, to the place where there is no death. Conditioned as your mind is by society, the contemporary world that you live in, which knows nothing about that dimension – your mind then tells you that there is something wrong with this. Your mind says “I should not be feeling peace, that is not what one feels in a situation like this”. But that’s a conditioned thought by the culture that you live in. So instead we can recognize when this happens, when that thought comes – recognize it as a conditioned thought that is not true.

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"Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep"

2011-09-09T15:02:00.001-05:00

"Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glint in snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush

I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight

I am the soft starlight at night

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there, I do not sleep."

~Attributed to several, including Mary Elizabeth Frye. This poem appeared later as an epitaph at the gravesite of Quanah Parker, Quashadi Comanche Chief-1852-1911~

In Memory of Tsali (2/2/73 - 9/7/11)

3 Simple Lessons from the Spiritual Masters --by Steve McSwain

2011-08-30T09:36:00.001-05:00

In the first of three posts, I discussed two of the most significant life lessons I've learned from the likes of Jesus, the Buddha, Lao-Tzu and many current spiritual masters or practitioners of higher states of consciousness, such as Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Deepak Chopra and the Dalai Lama.

Here are three additional lessons I've learned:

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Did Edgar Cayce speak about 2012? --Kevin Todeschi answers your questions

2011-08-26T10:55:00.006-05:00

Kevin J. Todeschi is the author of twenty books, including Edgar Cayce on Soul Mates, Edgar Cayce on Soul Growth, and Family Karma: The Hidden Ties that Bind. His most recent book, Edgar Cayce on Vibrations: Spirit in Motion, explores Vibrations—the building blocks of all of Creation. He is also the author of a book on dream interpretation, Dream Images and Symbols, as well as Dream Interpretation (and More!) Made Easy and has taught thousands of students the art of dream interpretation. His most popular book, Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records has been translated into seven languages and has also been made into a Nightingale-Conant CD course called Living Your Divine Contract: Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records. Todeschi is a graduate of Atlantic University’s M.A. program, and the focus of his work has been to assist individuals in seeing how they are responsible for bringing about the enlightenment promised by the Aquarian Age. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Mary.

Set Yourself Free: The Weight of Hate is Too Big a Burden --by Dennis Merritt Jones

2011-08-22T09:49:00.001-05:00

"I have decided to stick with love.

Hate is too great a burden to bear."

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28, I wanted to share some thoughts about his willingness to live in the integrity of that for which he stood. It's important to clarify that he did not take a stand against hate, bigotry, prejudice and violence; he took a stand for love, equality, tolerance, compassion and nonviolence.

There is a profound difference between standing "for" and standing "against" anyone or anything; what we push against we give more power to. The memorial being dedicated to Dr. King is not just for or about him -- it's for every human being who has ever been inspired by him to take a stand for love even in the midst of hate.

Eckhart on Karma --by Eckhart Tolle

2011-08-19T10:50:00.000-05:00

Karmic Wheel of Life; Sand Art

Eckhart Tolle

Everybody is born into a certain external environment. Also, everyone is born with certain predispositions – they may be partly genetic, they may be other things. A person is born with certain patterns, in other words. We don’t need to examine where they come from, but the fact is that a human being is born into a certain environment. It may be violent, or it may be relatively peaceful. A person is born with inner patterns that you inherit. Even "painbody" is partly inherited.

Animal and Bird Totems; "Animal Speak" and Ted Andrews

2011-08-18T08:52:00.000-05:00

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;

and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee.

Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee;

and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

Job 12: 7-8

Native and tribal peoples believe that all living things have lessons to teach us. By observing the characteristics and behaviors of our creature and feathered relatives, we can become aware of these lessons.

Blue Jay is highly adaptive and will teach knowledge of survival in this world and in others. He will guide in the proper use of power to utilize abilities to their fullest potential. Blue Jay will aid in this discovery and developing personal power, awareness and higher knowledge. Blue Jay helps balance the earthy realm with Spiritual, teaches courage and tenacity along with ingenuity and resourcefulness. Are you listening to your intuition and instincts? Are you balancing your gifts? Blue Jay will teach much for he will show how to master the abilities you are learning.

Enjoy the Abundance of Summer: A Flower Meditation --by Lilian Cheung, D.Sc., R.D.

2011-08-15T06:43:00.000-05:00

Summer is a time of abundance and energy. With more sunshine and longer days, this season is invigorating to our senses. Sunlight exposes vibrant blossoms and translucent canopies of leaves. A walk of any length can be an experience of unity with nature. When we are present with each step, joy and appreciation rise to the surface of our consciousness.

In this observant state, we are free to enjoy the intricacies of our surroundings: the joyful yellow of daisies that spot the lawn, the sweet distinctive smell of blooming roses, warm stones and pavement, steeped in sunshine.

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Who is Sailing Your Ship? --by Dennis Merritt Jones

2011-08-10T09:48:00.001-05:00

"Never had I understood that I command, with absolute authority, the ship of my life! I decide its mission and rules and discipline, at my word waits every tool and sail, every cannon, the strength of every soul on board. I'm master of a team of passionate skills to sail me through hell's own jaws the second I nod the direction to steer." -- Richard Bach

I am a sucker for metaphors with a message that make life a more meaningful experience. I resonate with the above quote by Richard Bach because it is a brilliant reminder of who gives the sailing orders and sets the compass for the ship of our life. It is a wake up call to the fact that we are the masters of our own destiny through the development and use of the skills of conscious intention, commitment, self-discipline, accountability and passion -- all of which are needed to get us to the destination of a life worth living.

Thich Nhat Hanh and David Suzuki to Discuss How to Restore Health to the Planet --by James Hoggan

2011-08-09T08:24:00.000-05:00

Photo by Bryan Touchstone, 2011

What happens when one of the world's most revered Buddhist teachers and a leading thinker on the environment are faced with the following question: What gives you hope that we can bring about the collective awakening needed to restore health to the planet?

We will find out on August 15 when Buddhist monk, poet, peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, sits down in Vancouver with Canada's David Suzuki, an award winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, to discuss the path forward to a more sustainable way of living.

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A Dialogue with Eckhart Tolle and Ram Dass -- October 28, 2011 @ 1pm (3pm HAST)

2011-08-05T08:24:00.001-05:00

Nearly 30 years before the publication of Eckhart Tolle's bestseller The Power of Now, the legendary Ram Dass captivated readers with his landmark book Remember, Be Here Now — a monumental work that quickly became "the instruction manual of choice for generations of spiritual seekers."

Be the Dog - My Puppy is A Zen Master --by Dennis Merritt Jones

2011-08-04T08:58:00.000-05:00

"Be alert as you watch a dog at play or at rest. Let the animal teach you to feel at home in the now, to celebrate life by being completely present. You just watch the tail ... with some dogs you just look at them -- just a little look is enough -- and their tail goes ...'Life is good! Life is good!' And they are not telling themselves a story of why life is good. It's a direct realization." ~Eckhart Tolle

The philosophy of Zen comes to mind when I witness dogs "being" themselves. My understanding of Zen (in part) is that it is the practice of "be-ing" 100 percent present and one with what is in the field of my awareness, or whatever I am doing. Given that meaning, it's safe to say I have a new Zen master in my life. His name is Mac Doodle, aka, "Master Mac." He is an 18 month old, half Goldendoodle and half Labradoodle. I receive new teachings from him daily. Today he taught me the importance of spontaneously taking a time-out from my usual busyness to play a little, which I did because he wouldn't leave me alone until I did. This was a win/win for both of us. I was a bit tired and losing my focus anyway. Now I feel twice as alive, energized and connected to what needs to be done ... and he is taking a snooze so I can get my work done.

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The Pleasure of Not Being Perfect --by Roger Housden

2011-08-02T09:40:00.001-05:00

Something always seems to be missing, even if we can't put our finger on it. It's in our hard drive. We aren't earning enough, we don't have the right partner, we haven't found our life purpose, we aren't living in the right city or our nose isn't straight enough.

So we meditate, we go into therapy, we take classes to improve our sex lives, we read books on how to follow our bliss. We may succeed in ironing out one wrinkle, but then another pops up in its place. The sense that life is not as good as it could be -- that we are not as good as we could be -- seems built into our genetic code.

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Bible Belt getting stretched in Nashville --By Ray Waddle, Religion Editor, The Tennessean (April 2001)

2011-07-27T09:51:00.001-05:00

"… [A] slow, steady and almost imperceptible transformation is occurring along "The Corridor," and this change has been previously overlooked. Since 1965, and especially since 1990, immigrants have begun to settle in this region, bringing their culture and their religion with them. … Immigrants have joined existing spiritual communities or have founded their own along "The Corridor."

Their presence is so pronounced that many have begun to ask if the region can still be labeled the Bible Belt. … The April 1, 2001 Tennessean article includes a list of the religions mapped so far. To that list can be added … A thriving Jain community with over 200 members, but with no local temple … Romanian Orthodox Church – the only one in Tennessee … Ethiopian Orthodox Church – the only one in Tennessee."

--The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Six Buddhist communities. Five Jewish congregations. Five Islamic mosques. A Baha'i center. A Hindu temple and a Hindu ashram, or teaching abode. Plus assorted Sikhs and Jains.

All are world religions that call the Bible Belt home in Nashville.

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Desiderata –by Max Ehrmann, 1927

2011-07-26T07:20:00.001-05:00

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

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Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation

2011-07-21T15:01:00.000-05:00

Cayce says that "I AM who I am" is the Creator, the first cause of manifestations, and that what life is about, is to get worthy of and companionable to the "I Am" within. The essence of a form is its spirit entering into cause, principles, and essences as the result of one or more impetuses from the Source.

During forty-three years of his adult life, Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) gave more than 14,000 psychic dissertations, called readings, on a variety of subjects. In 1901, at the age of 24, Edgar Cayce gave the first reading for himself, diagnosing a health condition, but it really wasn’t until 1923 that the subject of reincarnation was explored in a reading given to a printer from Ohio. (Interestingly enough, the concept had been mentioned in a prior reading given as early as 1911, but no one among Cayce’s associates was familiar with the idea, so the reference wasn’t recognized as such for decades.) The printer had already obtained successful readings for two members of his family when he asked for a horoscope reading. Toward the end of that reading [5717-1] the sleeping Cayce spoke the curious sentence: “he was once a monk.”

That statement opened the door to a whole new area of research and investigation – the topic of reincarnation.

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Thinning Carrots and the Art of Discernment --by Miriam Mason Martineau

2011-07-20T13:16:00.001-05:00

Sunday afternoon, with an hour to spare, I wander to the garden to thin some baby carrots - those wee beginnings of carrots, just tufts of green really - so as to create more space for the few I leave to fully grow and flourish. The sun is warm on my back as I get busy with this task that takes focused attention: one pull too many and a whole potential carrot is gone!

As I make my way down the rows slowly and carefully, I notice the challenge I face every time I perform this gardening task: To enable a few to thrive I need to pull out a lot of others and the thicker I originally sowed, the more I have to yank out. I don't like yanking out baby carrots, even if my logical mind tells me they're just tiny carrots and my gardening experience knows that if I don't do this, none of them will do well. As I go about the task, I wish I hadn't planted quite as thickly to begin with. I also try to figure out which ones look strong and healthy (those ones I leave) and I pay attention to spacing them evenly, so that each one left has enough soil and light to grow in.

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From Daily Om: The Most Fulfilling Road; Finding Your Next Step in Life

2011-07-15T07:30:00.002-05:00

It is when you are willing to listen to yourself

and be fearless

that figuring out your next step becomes easy.

Our lives are made up of a complex network of pathways that we can use to move from one phase of life to the next. For some of us, our paths are wide, smooth, and clearly marked. Many people, however, find that they have a difficult time figuring out where they need to go next. Determining which “next step” will land you on the most direct route to fulfillment and the realization of your life purpose may not seem easy.

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Daily Om: An Invitation to Love; Angel Meditation

2011-07-13T07:34:00.000-05:00

Last night at our regular meditation, we practiced "No Head Meditation," and enjoyed an angelic presence as we invited our hearts to open and act as our eyes, ears, and head. Thanks to Daily Om for this beautiful article that coincides with what we experienced. Namaste!
--ACOF Administration

From Daily Om: A meditation with your angels can provide a new gentleness into your normal meditation routine

Though your host of spirit guides encompasses many diverse beings, all of which willingly watch over you, meditating with angels can be a uniquely insightful experience. The angels stationed at your side are both powerful and knowledgeable—they possess a limitless understanding of your needs and desires, your strengths and weaknesses, and your purpose. However, angels take an active part in our lives only when invited to do so. Meditation allows you to make contact with your angels and lovingly request that they participate actively in your day-to-day life.

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What Color is Your Sky? --by George Anderson

2011-07-07T13:54:00.000-05:00

I've watched George Anderson for years, and I know he's one of the most gifted mediums one could encounter. In our own group we have a few people who are missing their loved ones right now who have crossed over. For them, I offer this video and article of and by George Anderson. May you have comfort! -ACOF Administration

George Anderson's Website: http://www.georgeanderson.com/

Perception is a funny thing--what we see is not always what we get. Take the sky, for instance. It's easy enough to look upward and see a clear blue sky. A least that's what we think we see. I remember, as a student at Our Lady Of Perpetual Help High School, when we were herded into the gymnasium to watch the Apollo 11 crew launch its way into the sky. I remember watching the sky go from light blue, to deep blue, to black as the rocket propelled itself toward space. That's when I began to realize that the sky may not, in fact, be blue at all. It's only our perception, from where were are standing on the earth, that makes it blue.

I find myself thinking back to that revelation whenever I speak to people who are bereaved. Their world is a matter of perception, at least to me. They know I speak to the souls, they know the souls speak about their beautiful world, and yet, to the bereaved, they are gone. What I perceive as blue, they perceive as black. No matter what we are told, no matter what we come to understand, the loss of a loved one is a loss to us. But are we looking carefully enough at the concept of loss, or are we so grounded on the earth that we can't see from another perspective that what we know may not be all we understand?

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Savor Your July 4 Celebration: The Practice of Mindful Eating --by Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung, D.Sc., R.D.

2011-07-01T08:05:00.001-05:00

Eating is often the focus of our July 4 celebration. Yet, most of us tend to eat mindlessly most of the time, missing the joy of savoring delicious food prepared with much heart and hard work.

Let's focus on how to eat mindfully so that we truly enjoy our food and eat with compassion and understanding. Mindful eating means simply eating or drinking while being aware of each bite or sip. You can practice it at any meal, whether you are alone in your kitchen or with others in a crowded restaurant. You can even practice mindful drinking when you pause to take a sip of water at your desk. Mindful eating allows us to fully appreciate the sensory delight of eating and to be more conscious of the amount and nature of all that we eat and drink. When practiced to its fullest, mindful eating turns a simple meal into a spiritual experience, giving us a deep appreciation of all that went into the meal's creation as well a deep understanding of the relationship between the food on our table, our own health and our planet's health.

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Oprah Radio: Oprah & Gary Zukav on "Soul Series" --This Saturday & Sunday (7/2 -7/3, 2011)

2011-06-29T15:05:00.000-05:00

In 2007 Oprah invited Gary Zukav to help her inaugurate her new Soul Series on Satellite Radio. Oprah Radio is replaying this historic interview this week!

Gary and Oprah Again

on the famous satellite radio

Soul Series

Saturday, July 2, 5AM EDT/2 AM PDT,

Sunday, July 3, 6 AM EDT/3AM PDT or 2PM EDT/11AM PDT

If you have Sirius or XM satellite radio, listen to Gary & Oprah on the following channels:

Sirius 204

XM 111

If you don’t have satellite radio, you can listen FREE online!

Click this link for a 7-day FREE trial. Complete the form.

Check your email for your password.

Click here and then click LISTEN LIVE (top right).

Enter your email address for user ID and your password (make it up)

and click LOG IN AND LISTEN

Deepak Chopra (and everyone) Deserves Compassion for Error --by Tanya Touchstone

2011-06-29T08:02:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

We had a wonderful meditation meeting last night followed by a really great discussion about Deepak Chopra's latest article that has received so much push-back from the community at large, "Sarah Palin, My President"

After we sat, I read the article aloud while everyone listened. Upon completing the article, we sat in silence for a few moments to reflect upon what we just heard. Everyone in attendance offered situations and examples wherein they, too, had spoken out about something, only later to realize that it was their thinking, their ego, that came across rather than their true intentions. It was heartwarming to hear people offer examples of their own mistakes with the spoken word.

A couple of years ago, I, too, spoke out publicly about something wherein I just knew I was 'right.' I was surprised to learn a short time later that by speaking out in the way that I did, I not only lost credibility as a meditation facilitator, but I hurt people with my words. This caused a hard-earned awareness for me, and so this mistake was worthy –because I learned from it. I did attempt to correct it and still strive to do so. I learned that it is very easy to get caught up in our brain, to be 'right,' and react rather than respond from the heart. I use this awareness constantly now. I strive to correct my prior wrong actions at every future opportunity. I learned we all make mistakes in judgment.

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Do We Really Have Each Other's Backs? --by Beth Green

2011-06-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

Many of us believe supporting one another requires us to concur with each other's views. My friend feels hurt by somebody, and I get brownie points for agreeing. Am I really supporting him or her by doing so? Not necessarily.

The best way to support someone is to help them become more self-aware. For instance, we could ask our friend: What is your part? What is the truth about the other person with whom you are having difficulties? The same principle applies on a collective level. The best way to support our world is to challenge our friends, families, community, religion, race and nation to become more self-aware and more accountable.

If we are going to call ourselves and others on our behavior, it is first necessary for us to switch from judgment to compassion. Judging others blocks us from understanding them, and if we don't understand them we can't help them. In addition, if people fear our judgments, they won't come to us in an open-hearted way. The same goes for ourselves. If we judge ourselves for our own destructive behaviors and attitudes, we may feel deeply ashamed. The fear of our own shame might cause us to shrink from self-awareness and to avoid the support that could truly enable us to transform.

Life: Your Continuing Education --by Dennis Merritt Jones

2011-06-21T14:30:00.001-05:00

"One of the shining qualities that heroes possess is the willingness to be educated by all things. They learn from the most impressive variety of people and experiences: the wise and the foolish; the obvious and the inconceivable; the living and the dead; the things they love and the things they hate...' Everything nourished him,' Henry Miller once said of Goethe."
-- From "Callings" by Greg Levoy

What Greg Levoy refers to as a hero I would refer to as an awakened, evolving person, on a quest to grow and better understand life. This type of hero is rare because they have the willingness to stand toe-to-toe with "what is"...to explore it and, ultimately, become a better person because of the encounter. Have you ever considered that everyone and everything that stands before you in every given moment of your life is an invitation from the universe to learn something vitally important to your own continuing education, evolution and growth? Is it really possible that you could be "nourished" by every experience you have, be it positive or negative? It's easy to imagine good things coming from that which we consider pleasant, but the objectionable things require us to dig much deeper into the experience to find the value in them. Having a willingness to be educated by all things is a tall (perhaps heroic) order, but consider the benefits: if you can remain teachable, every person, circumstance and event in your life gives you the opportunity to grow stronger, if you are willing to receive the lesson.

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The Summer Solstice --by Gary Zukav

2011-06-20T07:40:00.001-05:00

Gary Zukav

One special day in June the sun is higher in the sky than it is at any other time of the year. That day is also the longest day of the year. It is the summer solstice. Maximal potential and maximal growth are happening together. The spring gives way to the full force of summer, but the harvest is still months away.

When I lived on my ranch I felt most at ease during the summer. I had no fires to build, no pipes to thaw, no snow to shovel, and I knew that I had months until the fall to lay away the firewood that would keep me warm in the winter. A friend down the road had a black Arabian stallion named Darshan.

Each summer I let him graze in my meadow. The split cedar fence, laid into place decades before my arrival and enclosing three acres of grass and wildflowers, seemed to me the perfect place for this magnificent animal, and apparently he felt that way, too. As the summer stretched before me, I lost track of the winter behind me and the winter ahead. I walked the stream in the hot afternoons and jogged old logging roads in the cool of the morning. I repaired the generator, cleaned the wooden water tank in the old barn, and wrote my book. Surrounded by thousands of acres of timberland, I soaked in the heat and the vitality of the summer and immersed myself in them undisturbed

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Rumi And The Way of the Spiritual Lover --by Kabir Helminski, Sufi, shaikh, and author

2011-06-17T10:43:00.001-05:00

Have you ever reflected on the many forms that religious experience takes, the various archetypes of the spiritual life? I don't mean designations like bishop, rabbi, imam or swami, but more essential patternings that may run across traditions and cultures. There's the hierophant or high priest or priestess, the hermit, the shaman, the healer, the humble servant, the prophet, the ascetic, as well as some less complimentary types -- but let's not go there. And then there's the Way of the Lover, the person who is simply in love with God and, as a consequence, in love with people, with nature, with all of creation as an expression of God.

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Can Thoughts Make Things Happen? --by Peter Baksa

2011-06-14T08:36:00.000-05:00

As a pragmatic truth-seeking philosopher, I was very skeptical when I first encountered the Law of Attraction (LOA). Many things I've seen really stretch my credulity. But the more I think about it, the more I see nuggets underneath the hype that make sense to me, if reformulated a bit. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the Buddha was a Law of Attraction proponent, I do think there is some common ground to be found between the two.

We create our world through our thoughts. Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking all seem to agree that the universe/god is actually a set of laws and principles that we can count on to create our world. Stephen Hawking and Richard Feynman both speak in terms of M Theory and String Theory to further postulate how thoughts become matter. Our minds are essentially idea machines that refine our thoughts into electrical impulses which communicate with the same source energy that creates everything from nothing.

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Reflections on Jack Kevorkian: Who Owns Death? –by Janice Van Dyck

2011-06-09T11:21:00.000-05:00

ACOF asks: What Do You Think? -- Over time, we've posted a variety of views to this issue at this blog. With Kevorkian's recent death it's a good time to ask again, "What Do You Think"?
--ACOF Administration

Dr. Jack Kevorkian

We all value our freedom to live by our own measure. Do you think we should have the freedom to die that way as well?

I keep promising myself and my family that I'm done writing about death and dying. But then something happens -- like the How To Die In Oregon movie or Jack Kevorkian's death -- and there I am again, wanting to challenge your thinking on what it means to die in the 21st century. Sometimes it seems there's a genuine movement going on here. Every time I turn around, someone is pushing our comfort zone on end-of-life decisions.

In my blog posts and my novel, I've tried to present all sides of the death with dignity argument. I've encouraged choice but have not taken a stand on what that choice ought to be. I've talked about end-of-life planning, letting parents live their own lives and make their own decisions, and even bioethics. But there's something about what one proponent called "The Holy Grail" of the dying argument -- assisted dying -- that still makes a lot of people squirm. With Dr. Kevorkian's death, I think it's time for us to take that bogeyman out of the closet, too.

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'Opa!' The Echo of Life! –by Alex Pattakos

2011-06-07T12:28:00.000-05:00

It was a typical sunny day on the island of Crete, Greece. Just on the outskirts of the small village of Thronos, a father, Lambros, and his young son, Andreas, stop to admire the breathtaking view. Before them lay the majestic peak of Crete's tallest mountain, Mt. Psiloritis ("high mountain"), and below lay the vast Amari Valley. Mt. Psiloritis, also known as Mt. Ida, the "mountain of the goddess," holds a very special place in Greek mythology as the place where Zeus, the king of the gods, was born and raised. The fertile Amari Valley is rich in its own history with deep roots in the ancient Minoan civilization (circa 4,000 BC) and, in more recent times, as the center of resistance to foreign occupations.
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Adorning Your Spirit; Ryan's Well; No Head Meditation --by Tanya Touchstone

2011-06-01T11:14:00.001-05:00

Ryan Hreljac in Uganda With Ryan's Well

Every morning we all wake up and ready ourselves for the world. We get ready for work, or get ready to go out somewhere, or, really, do everything that we can to make ourselves more "presentable." We practice some type of physical adornment. We take great care to be clean, to wear clothes we feel good in, and if you are a woman, you probably wear some form of cosmetics. A lot of men and women wear cologne. All these things we do to make ourselves more attractive to others.

I wonder what would happen if we took as much time, thought, and care to making our spirits more attractive each day. What would happen if we forgot about spending so much time adorning our physical bodies and, instead, adorned our spirit? It's an interesting thought.

Same Soul Many Bodies --by Dr. Brian Weiss (1 of 12)

2011-06-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

"Your Erroneous Zones" by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer (From: DailyOM, 1977)

2011-05-26T08:24:00.000-05:00

Your Erroneous Zones

Look over your shoulder. You will notice a constant companion. For want of a better name, call him Your-Own-Death. You can fear this visitor or use him for your personal gain. The choice is up to you.

With death so endless a proposition and life so breathtakingly brief, ask yourself, "Should I avoid doing the things I really want to do?" "Should I live my life as others want me to?" "Are things important to accumulate?" "Is putting it off the way to live?" Chances are your answers can be summed up in a few words: Live ... Be You ... Enjoy ... Love.

You can fear your death, ineffectually, or you can use it to help you learn to live effectively. Listen to Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych as he awaits the great leveler, contemplating a past which was thoroughly dominated by others, a life in which he had given up control of himself in order to fit into a system.

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Soul Connections --by Gary Zukav

2011-05-24T08:17:00.000-05:00

Gary Zukav

Soul Connections are not things you can make. You already have seven billion of them. Your job is to choose how you will relate to them, even though you will meet only a few during your life. Will you look at them as ways to get what you want, what you think you need? Will you see them as potential sources of emotional, psychological, financial, or sexual satisfaction? Or will you see them as fellow souls whose lives are as complex, challenging, and painful as your own? In short, will you relate to them with love or with fear? That is the ever-present question in the Earth school. It is the longest running show on Broadway, and you are the one who must answer it each time you encounter a Soul Connection.

Look at yourself as having seven billion soul mates. These are not people who can complete your life or relieve your burdens. They are souls who offer you opportunities to grow spiritually and to whom you offer the same. Will you use the opportunities they offer, especially when you are angry, jealous, feeling superior, or feeling inferior to challenge your anger, jealousy, superiority or inferiority (by not acting on them), or will you indulge your anger, jealousy, superiority, or inferiority (by acting on them as you have in the past) and miss the opportunity?

I am grateful to be one of your Soul Connections, and I am grateful that you are one of mine.

Love,
Gary

Group Outing: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" - Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN, 6/17-19

2011-05-19T09:07:00.002-05:00

NYFF Review: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is one of the coolest titles to come in a long time. This critically acclaimed entry from the often overlooked Thailand cinema scene is the latest from up and coming auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul who won the Palme D’Or aka the highest honor earlier this year at the Cannes International Film Festvial. It is film filled with mystery and beauty, touching on a myriad of themes ranging from reincarnation to animals entwined with spiritual mythology among others....

Losing the Ego: A Conversation with Ram Dass --by Eliezer Sobel

2011-05-19T08:06:00.000-05:00

It was 1997. I was visiting the Neem Karoli Baba ashram in Vrindaban, India, when I learned that my old friend and spiritual teacher, Ram Dass, had had a major, possibly life-threatening stroke. How strange to hear such news in that particular place, which took me over 20 years to visit since first hearing Ram Dass's wondrous stories about Maharaj-ji in the mid '70s. ("Maharaj-ji" is the less formal, affectionate honorific used by Neem Karoli Baba's devotees.)

In a shamefully narcissistic manner, one of my first thoughts had to do with me. Because of all his work in the field of death and dying, not to mention being my teacher, I always assumed that if push ever came to shove and I was lying in my death bed somewhere, I'd call on Ram Dass to come sit with me through the process and all would be well. It simply never dawned on me that he was 22 years my senior, and, barring unforeseen tragic events, he was quite likely going to pre-decease me. I was a bit in shock at what should have been an obvious revelation, and felt orphaned.

Ram Dass demonstrated through his stroke experience what it means to truly walk one's talk, for he managed to re-frame a frightening, painful and shocking event that would completely change his life and abilities forever, into what he would eventually refer to as "fierce grace" (which also became the title of a wonderful film about his ordeal.) The teaching he offered is that all circumstances -- seemingly good or bad from our own perspective -- can be seen, felt and even known as God's grace, if one is but willing to hold them that way and learn from them rather than merely complain and be the unfortunate victim of a terrible turn of events in one's life.

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Do Buddhists Believe in God? –by Lewis Richmond, Buddhist writer and teacher

2011-05-13T15:56:00.001-05:00

Buddha and Christ

In my upcoming book, Aging as a Spiritual Practice (Gotham Books, January 2012), I tell the following story:

Once, when I was on a live radio show being interviewed by a Christian talk show host, her first question to me was, "Do you Buddhists believe in God?"

I had only a few seconds to think of an answer.

"Yes," I said.

"Good!" the host said. "And how do you pray?"

I said that we prayed in silence to reach our divine nature.

"I like that!" the host said.

When I have told this story in talks, some of my Buddhist listeners say, "Oh, that's nice. It's good to be polite." But I wasn't just being polite. I was raised in a Christian church and went to Christian Sunday school. My favorite song as a child was "God is Love." After graduating from college, for a year I attended Christian seminary, with the idea of becoming a minister. I didn't become a dedicated Buddhist until some time after that. I am comfortable with the word God.

Read more »

It Gets Better --by Dan (Savage) and Terry

2011-05-10T11:26:00.005-05:00

We at A Circle of Friends believe deeply that our Creator loves all of Creator's children, and so we accept all. Some of us are progressive Christians, some of us Hindu, some Muslim, some Jewish, some Straight, some Gay, and a host of other faiths and paths. We welcome all and look forward to sharing Spirituality with all brothers and sisters. We honor the Light in You, Also the Light in Me, We are One - All are welcome.
--ACOF Administration

"We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Dan Savage is editorial director of the Seattle weekly The Stranger, where he was formerly Editor-in-Chief. He is a regular contributor to PRI's "This American Life" and has been featured as a Real Time Reporter on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher." Dan heard about the suicides of Justin Aaberg and Billy Lucas and had a reaction so many LGBT adults had. “I wish I could’ve talked to that kid for five minutes before he killed himself,” Dan recently said. “I’d tell him that however bad it was in high school or middle school...it gets better.” The It Gets Better Project was born. Listen to Dan and his partner Terry talk about their stories and how the project came to be. Visit here for further information.

Stop Resisting, Stop Feeling Stress --By Gary Zukav and Linda Francis

2011-05-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

Stress is the consequence of resistance. Learn how to stop expending energy resisting your life, from Gary Zukav and Linda Francis, authors of The Heart of the Soul: Emotional Awareness.

Stress is the consequence of resistance. It is not caused by circumstances in your life. It is not caused by the painful emotions you experience, either. It is caused by your resistance to your life. It is possible for you to encounter a wide variety of circumstances, but it is your resistance to those circumstances that causes stress.

When you resist a circumstance in your life, it takes energy and that produces stress. It is one thing to observe a circumstance and it is another thing to resist it. Challenging and changing a circumstance and resisting it are different. Challenging a situation is using your will to change what you are experiencing—to change the dynamic within yourself that is producing the situation. Resisting is wishing in that moment that you were not experiencing it. It is attempting to stop the experience.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead: A Mindful Response --by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

2011-05-03T09:16:00.003-05:00

**Note: We have received messages stating the MLK, Jr. quote below is not accurate. We are aware that only a portion of the quote, the last section, is from MLK, Jr. However, we believe that the words are a truth, and so it doens't really matter who said it, where it came from, etc. The message itself is worthy. Accordingly, we leave it as is. May you enjoy the message itself and leave the worry over attributions to the scholars.

--ACOF Administration

Martin Luther King Jr. (*or someone) said:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

What does that mean exactly?

Vindication? A cause for celebration? Justice served? Revenge?

Read more »

Please Call Me By My True Names --by Thich Nhat Hanh; ACOF's Response to the Death of Osama Bin Laden

2011-05-02T09:06:00.003-05:00

Written by Thich Nhat Hanh in 1982 on the way to the U.N. Special Session on Disarmament. Amid the moral pronouncements of other religious leaders addressing the session, he took the dais, read this, then sat down. It has been circulated ever since.

Please Call Me By My True Names

Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow

because even today I still arrive.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second

to be a bud on a spring branch,

to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,

learning to sing in my new nest,

to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,

to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,

in order to fear and to hope.

The rhythm of my heart is the birth and

death of all that are alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,

and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time

to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,

and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,

feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,

my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,

and I am the arms merchant,

selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,

who throws herself into the ocean

after being raped by a sea pirate,

and I am the pirate,

my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,

with plenty of power in my hands,

and I am the man who has to pay

his "debt of blood" to, my people,

dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring,

so warm it makes flowers bloom

in all walks of life.

My pain is like a river of tears,

so full it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,

so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,

so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,

so I can wake up,

and so the door of my heart can be left open,

the door of compassion.

Living deeply and dying well with Stephen Jenkinson --CFRU 93.3 FM in Guelph, Ontario, Canada

2011-04-28T08:14:00.001-05:00

Note from ACOF Administration: A few of us were fortunate to hear Stephen Jenkinson speak live in Nashville, TN, and it was a moving experience. We invite you, and in fact encourage you, to take time to listen to the Pocast (below). You will be glad you did!

With counseling and ceremony, Stephen Jenkinson guides individuals, couples, families and communities through all the human sufferings, sorrows and confusions in life. He’s been doing this for a quarter century. After an apprenticeship to a musician storyteller he worked with dying people, their families, and with those unsure how to grieve. As a programme director in a major Canadian hospital, an assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school and an educator and advocate in the helping professions, Stephen Jenkinson consulted to palliative care and hospice organizations. He is revolutionizing the way we think about grief and dying in North America.

Stephen Jenkinson is a spiritual activist, teacher, author, ceremonialist,

sculptor and traditional canoe builder.

This show aired live Sunday, January 2, 2011 8 to 9 AM Eastern Time on CFRU 93.3 FM in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Podcast

We begin our conversation with a quote from Stephen’s website.

“A culture addicted to security, comfort and ‘be all you want to be’ makes no time in its public or private life for sorrow or uncertainty or the end of things. To a culture like our own, grief is mostly medicated or resolved, and our hearts elbow our lives out of the way in their headlong search for safe landings and getting their needs met. But what would our culture look like and how would our children think of us fifty years from now, if we began to honour and teach grief as a skill, as vital to our personal and cultural and spiritual life as the skill of loving?”

Stephen tells us about teaching grief as a skill, softening our hearts, having reverence for life, and loving as if it not going to last.

Flower Watering --by Thich Nhat Hanh

2011-04-26T08:53:00.000-05:00

Flower Watering is a chance to share our appreciation for the other person. We may mention specific instances that the other person said or did something that we had admired. This is an opportunity to shine light on the other’s strengths and contributions to the Sangha and to encourage the growth of his or her positive qualities.

Recognizing others positive traits allows us to see our own good qualities as well. Along with these good traits, we each have areas of weakness, such as talking out of our anger or being caught in our misperceptions.

When we practice “flower watering” we support the development of good qualities in each other and at the same time we help to weaken the difficulties in the other person.

As in a garden, when we “water the flowers” of loving kindness and compassion in each other, we also take energy away from the weeds of anger, jealousy and misperception.

Easter; Prayer for World Peace

2011-04-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

The Face of Jesus, from The History Channel.
Read more about the Shroud of Turin 3D Graphics Technology here

Edgar Cayce & ARE's 40th ANNUAL MID-SOUTH RETREAT, November 4-6, 2011, Montgomery Bell State Park, Burns, TN

2011-04-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

Click here for more information on Edgar Cayce

40th ANNUAL MID-SOUTH RETREAT

Montgomery Bell State Park, Burns, Tennessee

November 4-6, 2011

The Art & Science of Transformation:

Edgar Cayce and Eastern Spirituality

featuring Istvan Fazekas

Istvan Fazekas is a dynamic author and speaker, melding Christian mysticism with Eastern traditions, Cayce’s health recommendations, and energetic principles. He is the author of A.R.E.’s best seller, The Alkalizing Diet and Edgar Cayce and the Yoga Sutras. He has studied with yogi and Buddhist teachers for nearly 20 years an has been a regular A.R.E. lecturer since the 1990s.

SCHEDULE

Friday: 4 PM Registration begins; 7 PM Orientation,

7:30 PM Program begins.

Saturday: 9:00 AM-Noon Program; 2-5:00 PM Mini workshops;

7-9:30 PM Program.

Sunday: 9:00-11:30 AM Program conclusion.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Make your own room reservations with Montgomery Bell State Park Inn (800-250-8613) before Oct. 4, 2011. Be sure to identify yourself as “Association for Research & Enlightenment” so that you can be counted as part of the block of rooms reserved for us. Our group rate is $78.03 (includes tax) per night for single or double— $6 per night for each additional occupant over 2. For help finding a roommate or to be included in a group villa contact the retreat Registrar. Campsites are available through the Inn.

TUITION: Before Oct. 4, 2011: $55 per person; $40 for Seniors, 2 from same family, and students. After Oct. 4, 2011, $75 per person for ALL. For information contact Registrar, Carolyn Jones 901-674-7525 (cphiljo@bellsouth.net).

MEALS: Buffet available in the Inn dining room (call Inn for current price list) or drive to Dickson.

DIRECTIONS: State Park Inn located 8 miles east of Dickson on U.S. Highway 70, west of Nashville. Eastbound: Leave I-40 at exit 172 north onto Hwy 46. Drive 4 miles then take a right on Hwy 70 (at Rite Aid Drug Store). Drive 4 miles and turn right at the small brown “Park Entrance” sign. Follow signs within the Park to Inn/conference center (through woods 2 miles). Westbound: Leave I-40 at exit 182. Turn right onto Hwy 96, go 12 miles to U.S. Hwy 70. Turn right on Hwy 70, proceed 2.5 miles, turn right into park entrance as above.

REGISTRATION: Please click here to print and fill out the registration form, or contact the Registrar, Carolyn Jones at 901-674-7525 (cphiljo@bellsouth.net)

Kill Your To-Do List --by Leo Babauta

2011-04-18T11:56:00.001-05:00

You've heard the expression, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him"? Well, now you can kill your to-do list, too. Thanks to Leo Babauta of Zenhabits; Smile, Breathe, and Go Slowly.
Follow him on Twitter. --COF Administration

Most people reading this will have a to-do program, or a paper list or text file, listing not only projects and tasks but separate lists for home and work and possibly half a dozen different contexts.

Those who don’t have a to-do list probably feel they should, because they’re swamped and feeling overwhelmed.

I’m here to suggest: kill your to-do list.

Read more »

The Interspiritual Age - Practical Mysticism for the Third Millennium --by Wayne Teasdale

2011-04-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

Precis

Global spirituality or Interspiritual wisdom has become possible because of a tangible sense of community among the religions and the real necessity for the religions to collaborate on the serious challenges to the world, notably the ecological crisis. Only spirituality can move us from within to change and become more responsible for the Earth and one another. Global spirituality is basically a consensus on the practical values, practices, and Insights found In all traditions of spirituality including moral life, deep nonviolence, solidarity with all life and with the Earth, spiritual practice and self-knowledge, simplicity, selfless service, and prophetic action. Mature spirituality also grants us a number of gifts or capacities that enhance our relations with others and our work: openness, presence, listening, being, seeing, spontaneity, and joy. Finally, spirituality is a resource for building a universal and enlightened civilization.

We are at the threshold of a new age, a Second Axial Age, a decisive period that will be characterized by a deep sense of community among the religions – of interspiritual wisdom – and a profound commitment to environmental justice. The Second Axial Age will thus also be the Interspiritual Age and the Ecological Age, as Thomas Berry calls it.1 These terms are actually interchangeable, for the Second Axial Age names these two fundamental shifts in consciousness that imply one another: the emergence of interspiritual wisdom from the discovery of community among members of the various religions, and the serious focus on the ultimate value of and concern for the Earth. Interspiritual wisdom includes a healthy eco-spirituality that, as a new form of nature-mysticism, emphasizes this new value and concern for the planet as part of mystical life and understanding. Whatever term we may use to describe this new, formative historical time, it seems undeniable that a new age is upon us.2

Read more »

From DailyOM: A World in Confusion; Cultivating Inner Clarity

2011-04-07T09:02:00.001-05:00

If we can locate the stillness at the center of our hearts,

we can find composure in almost any situation.

People who maintain their sense of calm when things around them are in a state of flux and confusion are always wonderful to be around. We feel calmer just being near them, as if they have activated our own sense of inner peace. From them we learn that we can be calm, even when everything around us is in turmoil, because we know that no matter what happens, this inner sense of calm will help us to function well. Often, times of confusion are the times that enable us to find that part of ourselves that knows how to cope, and how to be a light to others in the storm.

If we allow ourselves to be thrown off balance by every piece of disturbing news that comes our way, we may be relying too much on our emotions. On the other hand, our thoughts may also be unreliable at times like these, as they chatter on endlessly about what might happen next. If our feelings and thoughts activate one another in a hectic way, then we become caught up in the confusion that surrounds us. However, if we can locate the stillness at the center of our hearts, we can find composure in almost any situation. In addition, we provide a safe place for our friends and family, who are also prone to taking on the confusion of a world in flux.

It helps to remember that we don’t need to completely understand what’s happening right now, nor do we need to be able to predict the future. Most of us just want to find our way to being at peace with whatever happens, and we can find this peace inside. Cultivating our inner clarity with meditation, journaling, and reading words that inspire us, will lead us to that place inside us that’s already there, just waiting.

Anything Can Happen at Any Time: Zen Lessons from Japan --by James Baraz

2011-04-05T08:06:00.001-05:00

What's happened in Japan affects all of us. Perhaps, like me, you've noticed a sober backdrop of stunned sadness that's been pervading our collective psyche. If we are to become more conscious human beings then each moment can be taken as an opportunity to wake up. What can we learn so that this tragedy helps us deepen our understanding and become more awake?

A central tenet of existence is the truth of impermanence. Ultimately there is no stability in a constantly changing world. Everything on this physical plane is subject to this law of unreliability -- our bodies, our mind-states, our relationships, even the very earth we stand on. As one of my teachers puts it: "Anything can happen at any time." Zen philosopher Alan Watts called it "the wisdom of insecurity." An earthquake is a direct experience that there's no solid ground to stand on. The images coming out of Japan not only touch our hearts, they underscore the fragility of life. How can we relate to the unpredictability of life so that rather than living in a continual state of anxiety this truth helps us grow and informs our lives?

Read more »

Facebook and Faith --by Jim Moret

2011-04-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

Jim Moret - Chief Correspondent, 'Inside Edition'; Attorney; Author, 'The Last Day of My Life'

Has the power of prayer entered the digital age? For me it has. I'm not talking about watching sermons over the Internet, or using the web as a means to collect tithing from the faithful. My experience is simply anecdotal and very personal.

The youngest of our three children has suffered a debilitating nerve injury for more than two and a half years. The Internet was a prime resource for learning about his rare condition and finding and reaching out to experts who could effectively treat him. I wrote a few articles on The Huffington Post about our experiences as a family in dealing with chronic pain. As a result of those articles, this condition which had isolated our son attracted others who were experiencing the same rare condition and who also felt alone. I received emails from strangers with whom, it turns out, I had so much in common. One family was from St. Louis, another was from England. The bond we shared gave us strength and a much needed outlet.

I posted my articles and updates on Twitter and Facebook. That's when something remarkable happened. We were overwhelmed by messages of faith and support. Here is just a sampling of the dozens we have received:
Read more »

The Key to Eradicating Your Fears --by Jinny Ditzler

2011-03-29T10:42:00.000-05:00

2011 is a tough year, with palpable stress and fear in the air; recovery expectations dashed; bad news, night after night; and human suffering reaching new depths in Japan and the Middle East. All of this is occurring in an environment of chaos and ever-increasing distractions. New challenges, problems and tasks being added daily to lists already impossibly long.

It may be shocking to read words like these coming from Mrs. Best Year Yet, but these realities have affected all of us, including me. And sometimes it felt like it has affected me especially. Here I am, working in the business 24/7, way past retirement age, and the stress of years of working this hard finally erupted this year in scary pain and health issues -- for both Tim and me. We have had our home on the market for two and a half years, having long since said goodbye to that nest egg strategy, while we've struggled through months of low sales, waiting for our new Best Year Yet online software to take off. Will we ever be able to stop?

I don't ever remember having a fear that took the breath out of me and sometimes brought clutching chest pains. Then last November I broke my foot, leaving the emergency room on crutches!

In the midst of all this, I couldn't find my way, and nothing seemed to work. I was lost in the pit of self-pity and didn't even know it. I've always believed in miracles, but the well was dry.

Then one day I overheard my lifelong friend Sally talking about a conversation she'd recently had with friends. Someone had asked the question, "What's the source of miracles?" A deep discussion followed and they reached a profound conclusion. The source of miracles is gratitude.
Read more »

Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramita) --commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh,

2011-03-28T14:22:00.020-05:00

HEART SUTRA COMMENTARY
An extract from The Heart of Understanding by Thich Nhat Hanh

Through mindfulness we experience Interbeing
which means everything is in everything else.
Therefore, one should know that Perfect Understanding
is a great mantra, is the highest mantra,
is the unequalled mantra, the destroyer of all suffering,
the incorruptible truth. This is the mantra:

"Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha."

A MANTRA IS something that you utter when your body, your mind and your breath are at one in deep concentration. When you dwell in that deep concentration, you look into things and see them as clearly as you see an orange that you hold in the palm of your hand. Looking deeply into the five skandhas, Avalokitesvara (the Buddha) saw the nature of inter-being and overcame all pain. He became completely liberated. It was in that state of deep concentration, of joy, of liberation, that he uttered something important. That is why his utterance is a mantra.

Read more »

Your Mind Is a Great Thing to Lose --by Ed and Deb Shapiro

2011-03-24T08:26:00.000-05:00

Ed and Deb ShapiroSpiritual teachers;
award-winning authors,
'Be the Change'; columnists, Oprah.com

There are billions of people on our planet, and yet, amazingly, each one of us has a completely different mind with exclusive thoughts, feelings, likes and dislikes. One may desire to be an astronaut and walk on the moon, another a caregiver helping the elderly, another gets lost in the world of delusion or depression.

This mind is able to grasp the most complicated technical theories or create beautiful works of art, yet it can just as easily be distracted by meaningless trivia or get painfully addicted to heroin. Have you ever wondered about your own mind? How it can move so quickly from feeling good to despair, from clarity to utter confusion, and all in just a moment?

Read more »

Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh

2011-03-23T09:01:00.002-05:00

I awoke this morning with these particular quotes from Thay on my mind. I invite you to meditate upon them. May all beings be happy, May all beings be peaceful, May all beings be free from suffering. --COF Administration

"If we are too busy, if we are carried away every day by our projects, our uncertainty, our craving, how can we have the time to stop and look deeply into the situation-our own situation, the situation of our beloved one, the situation of our family and of our community, and the situation of our nation and of the other nations?"

The Next Buddha: "The next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community; a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the Earth."

"The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments."

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Spring Trust --by Gary Zukav

2011-03-18T08:14:00.000-05:00

Photograph by Bryan Touchstone Photography

In the northern hemisphere, where I live, it is spring. Blossoms are blooming on the fruit trees and leaves are budding. Everyone is relieved that the winter is over at last. Why speak of trust when everything is becoming fresh anew, vibrant, and wondrous?

It is not only things going wrong that frighten us. It is also our lives going profoundly right. It is clarity piercing the armor of encrusted prejudices about others and ourselves. It is new vitality sweeping away the stagnation of lethargy. It is deep roots, long buried beneath the surface, sending up sprouts to at last burst uncontrolled into sunlight.

That sunlight is your consciousness. The birth of new life is as challenging as it is exhilarating, as frightening as it is liberating. Are you prepared to leave old fears, angers, and judgments behind? Are you willing to see yourself as endlessly creative, and responsible for what you create?

From Ode Magazine - People, Passion, Possibilities: A Letter from Sendai

2011-03-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out a sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.

It's utterly amazingly that where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

Read more »

COF Recipe for Challenging Economic Times: Affordable, Healthy "Non-Percussive" Beans & Rice! --by Tanya Touchstone

2011-03-16T14:24:00.004-05:00

When I was a little girl growing up in SE Texas, my father worked at an oil refinery. Oil refinery workers belonged to Unions, and sometimes there were strikes, meaning no money came into the house for long periods of time. I learned at a young age the beauty of a dried bean and a pot of rice, and how to stretch the grocery dollar with what we called "Strike Menus." This experience prepared me well for lean times that occasionally came in adulthood. Given the state of the economy, COF is sharing with you a wonderful recipe from my childhood that can be used with any type of dried bean. Delicious and healthy! If you do it right, a pot of beans with rice as a side item, a pan of corn bread .. a week's worth of food for a family totaling about $5! Enjoy ---and save! --COF Administration

"Non-Percussive" Beans with Rice

To take the "percussion" out of a pot of beans, you must start the soaking process the night before. Find a large bowl and fill it with water. Empty a bag of beans in the bowl of water, adding 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda. Stir the baking soda in, cover the beans with a dish towel, and do what you do until tomorrow. Be sure not to use salt in the soaking process. About 16 hours later, a lot of the "percussive" ingredients will have dissolved! Now drain and then rinse the beans 3 times.

Recipe (Any Type Beans)

½ T Baking Soda (for soaking process)
1 Bag of any type of bean
Read more »

A Letter to the Little Sisters of the World - What Are You Worth? --by Tanya Touchstone

2011-03-15T08:18:00.001-05:00

My Dear Little Sisters of the World,

The other evening I was celebrating with two dear friends my three year victory over cancer. To me, as I gazed across the table at them, they were two of the loveliest women I'd ever seen, for they had offered me care when I was too weak or sick to function. We took photos to commemorate the event, and as we looked at the photos we'd just taken, I was dismayed to hear them severely criticize their appearance. They were very upset with different features and talked horribly about themselves, to which I responded, "Please don't talk that way about my friends." On the way home, this occurrence of severe self-criticism caused me to have the following thoughts for my little sisters of the world.

Little Sisters,

If your lips are too large,
It is only because you have been given the capacity to offer large messages of hope.

If you have more than one chin,
It is only because your mouth needs the extra support for the care your speech will offer others.

If your hair is gray and thinning,
It is only because you have worried over others when offering them your care.

If your body is too large,
It is only because you have been given the capacity to hold others up when they have fallen down.

If your body or stature is too small,
It is only because you have been given the size to get into the small places of others where hurt resides.

If your hands are too large,
It is only because you have been given the capacity to offer a tender touch to a sick child.

If your hips are too large,
It is because they have the capacity to bring forth the generations.

If your body is sick or mangled,
It is only because you have been given the opportunity to inspire through self- acceptance.

Little Sisters,
Do you know what you are worth?
Do you know that what you have been given is there to be used for others?
Do you know that you are uniquely beautiful in every way imaginable?

When people look back upon their lives and remember the people who were special to them,
They do not remember dress size, extra chins, or size of body.

No, Little Sisters.
When people look back over their lives,
The only thing they remember is the care you offered, the joy you gave.

Know the worth of what you have been given, and celebrate all that you are.
Everything you have is for a purpose.

The only feature people will remember
Is the size and beauty of your heart.

With love,
A woman who has received all these things, and more from every size and shape imaginable.

Tanya Touchstone, A Circle of Friends Facilitator
© 2011

Thich Nhat Hanh: Message to Friends in Japan --by Thich Nhat Hanh

2011-03-15T07:38:00.000-05:00

Dear friends in Japan,

As we contemplate the great number of people who have died in this tragedy, we may feel very strongly that we ourselves, in some part or manner, also have died.

The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind. And the human species and the planet Earth are one body. What happens to one part of the body happens to the whole body.

An event such as this reminds us of the impermanent nature of our lives. It helps us remember that what's most important is to love each other, to be there for each other, and to treasure each moment we have that we are alive. This is the best that we can do for those who have died: we can live in such a way that they continue, beautifully, in us.

Here in France and at our practice centers all over the world, our brothers and sisters will continue to chant for you, sending you the energy of peace, healing and protection.

Our prayers are with you.

A Perspective on [Pema Chodron's] 'When Things Fall Apart' --by Nancy Colasurdo

2011-03-14T11:47:00.001-05:00

Author Pema Chodron has been on my radar for a while, but you know how it is when life keeps moving and you mean to get to something.

Well, I got to Chodron this week, or perhaps more accurately, this wise American Buddhist nun got to me. I have read just three essays – a total of 17 pages – in her book When Things Fall Apart and already my perspective has widened on the personal, the political, the global. It is exquisitely written.

While its subtitle, “Heart Advice for Difficult Times,” suggests a personal message, it is impossible while reading it not to think of what is happening in Egypt or apply its wisdom to almost any significant movement where people are pushing through what is troubling or oppressive.

“When things fall apart and we’re on the verge of we know not what, the test for each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize,” Chodron writes.

Is this not simultaneously more difficult and much easier when applied to a collective? People joined in a passionate cause can lean on one another, encourage and lift one another. An individual striving to “not concretize” has only to focus one mind and heart, but is not part of that larger energy force. Keeping the collective focused, on either side, is what brings about real change in communities and nations.

Read more »

Dalai Lama Will Give Up Political Role In Tibetan Government-In-Exile

2011-03-10T08:33:00.000-06:00

03/ 9/11 11:46 PM

DHARMSALA, India -- The Dalai Lama says he will give up his political role in Tibet's government-in-exile, shifting that power to an elected representative.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has long said he wanted the elected government-in-exile based in this Indian hill town to have more power.

He says in a Thursday speech he would soon be proposing amendments to the exile constitution "reflecting my decision to devolve my formal authority to the elected leader."

Tanafos (Breathe)

2011-03-10T08:10:00.000-06:00

From COF Administration: This is an offering from Soheila. As a point of interest, Sleeping Prophet Edgar Cayce also endorsed this method.

The nose has a left and a right side; we use both to inhale and exhale. Actually they are different; you would be able to feel the difference. The right side represents the sun, left side represents the moon. During a headache, try to close your right nose and use your left nose to breathe. In about 5 mins, your headache will go.

If you feel tired, just reverse, close your left nose and breathe through your right nose. After a while, you will feel your mind is refreshed.

Right side belongs to 'hot', so it gets heated up easily, left side belongs to 'cold'. Most females breathe with their left noses, so they get "cooled off" faster. Most of the guys breathe with their right noses, they get worked up. Do you notice the moment we wake up, which side breathes faster? Left or right? If left is faster, you will feel tired. So, close your left nose and use your right nose for breathing, you will get refreshed quickly.

Dr. Dyer's Television Special, Excuses Begone! Airs This Month

2011-03-10T07:37:00.001-06:00

Excuses Begone!
Don't miss Dr. Dyer's Public Television special!

Check your local listings to find out what times Wayne's extraordinary public television special will be broadcast in your area and get ready to say, "Excuses Begone!"

Learn how to change the self-defeating thinking patterns that have prevented you from living at the highest levels of success, happiness, and health by saying Begone—to all your excuses! You'll ultimately realize that there are no excuses worth defending, ever, even if they've always been a part of your life—and the joy of releasing them will permeate to your very core and you'll awaken to the life of your dreams.

Move out of established thought patterns and realize that there is nothing standing in your way of living at your highest levels. Find out how with Excuses Begone!

The Path to Buddhist Enlightenment: Sometimes Assertion, Sometimes Surrender --by Jay Michaelson

2011-03-08T08:03:00.001-06:00

Anyone who's been in the spiritual world long enough knows that just about everything can be packaged as the latest, greatest way to get enlightened. Surrender everything, "manifest" everything, celebrate the body, abandon the body -- you name it, and both it and its opposite are the one sure-fire way to spiritual success.

That's why I love a pair of enlightenment stories in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition, which illustrate how what is needed for liberation is unique to each individual. The stories are of the Buddha himself, and his longtime aide and disciple, Ananda.

In the classic story of the Buddha's enlightenment, he sits under the Bodhi tree and resolves not to get up until he is fully liberated from suffering. Over the watches of a single night, he recalls all his past lives, goes through a series of trials and finally is besieged by Mara, the embodiment of all obstacles seekers face along the spiritual path. Mara, in a role similar to that of Satan in the story of Christ, tempts the Buddha with wealth, sensual pleasures and so on. Mara tries to terrify him. And finally, when all these and other tactics have failed, Mara assails the Buddha with his ultimate weapon: doubt.

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Happy 400th, King James Bible! -- by Jon M. Sweeney

2011-03-01T11:38:00.002-06:00

You may have heard that 2011 marks the 400th anniversary since the original publication of the King James Bible. So what? The KJV (King James Version) is not simply a Bible, it is the Bible that has influenced the English-speaking world more than any other.

There are, however, several popular, mistaken notions about this book. First of all, it was not the first English translation of the Bible. Several came before it, including a famous one by a guy named Wycliffe and another by a man who was burnt at the stake for translating the Bible into the vernacular, Tyndale.

Second, King James did none of the work. He appointed someone who then assembled a series of translation committees made up of scholars and poets who did the work.

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The Buddhist Way of Being Present to Suffering --by Bernie Glassman

2011-02-18T08:03:00.001-06:00

Doing service for others as a spiritual practice is a way to be in the world without separation. In the Buddhist tradition, we call this recognizing that everything is an expression of emptiness. The Heart Sutra says:

Form is no other than emptiness,

Emptiness no other than form;

Form is precisely emptiness, Emptiness precisely form.

Sensation, perception, reaction and consciousness are also like this.

All things are expressions of emptiness.

Form is the world of phenomena: spiritual teachings, individuals and ideas. Emptiness is the oneness of life, which means life as it is, without any distinctions. We get confused when we see others as separate from us, when we take form alone for reality. However, to see that "all things are expressions of emptiness" means to recognize that each one of us is totally affected by every other person. We are mutually interdependent. The part is the whole and the whole is the part. If we see that we are all interconnected, we can break down the barrier between Self and Other and experience that we are all One.

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