Oneness and the American Revolution

On June 12, 1775, shortly after the battles of Concord and Lexington, General Gage, who was the Commander in Chief of the British forces in the American Colonies, declared martial law in Massachusetts. All who laid down arms were to be pardoned with the exception of Samuel Adams and John Hancock who were to be captured and taken to England to stand trial.

On that very same day the Second Continental Congress called for a national day of prayer and fasting that was to be held on July 20, 1775.

Southern historian and physician, David Ramsey described the sacred event: "It was no informal service. The whole body of the people felt the importance, the weight and the danger of the unequal contest, in which they were about to engage; that everything dear to them was at stake; that a divine blessing only could carry them through it successfully."

He also wrote: ".....the time to part being come, the governor of the Universe, by a secret influence on their minds, disposed them to Union. From whatever cause it proceeded, it is certain, that a disposition to do, to suffer, and to accommodate, spread from breast to breast, and from Colony to Colony, beyond the reach of human calculation. It seemed as though one mind inspired the whole."

The Colonies did not get along. They were comprised of a diverse population of nearly 3 million people from countries that had been at war with each other for centuries. Yet they eventually went on to defeat the mightiest military power in the world.

The Continental Army did not have adequate food, clothing or supplies. They were not paid and were purely volunteer. The Colonists did not want to fight this war. The war was imposed on them not by the British,  as some might say,  but by Heaven above.

The Colonists had been practicing Christian Principles of Self Government for over 150 years. They did not view a monarch or a government as Sovereign. The men and women of the American Revolution had long since awakened to the the true source of force and power. This only comes when God is held as sovereign in the heart.

Sadhana For Realizing the Dependently Arising Nature of Creation

This is from one of my favorite sadhana's (spiritual practices). Many think that they need to go to a beautiful place or a mountain to attain higher states. I also know that if I invited you to a mountain, to the ruins or a sacred site or even a short walk out into the desert to meditate most of you would not go- preferring to sit in the air-conditioning while yelling the names of the chakras for some time.

I know first hand that you can experience the dependently arising nature of creation at a Walmart or at a fast food restaurant. You can experience a state of oneness while meditating on a can of tomato soup just as easily as focusing on a beautiful flower.

So we will try this. I will show you how. In this practice, some will experience, or perhaps enter for some time, a state of consciousness of a buddha. The ancients used the word "buddha" to mean an enlightened person who has awakened from suffering born of ignorance. In this state is a seeing of the dependently arising nature of this creation. And it is an appeasement of all obsessions. How long with it last? It all depends. How long would you like to stay awake?

Tonight’s meditation is for the experience of a state of a buddha. Very simply in this state you see the entire Universe in all that you see and realize the dependently arising nature of creation. This experience occurs when the kundalini and the point of awareness meet in the Ajnea Chakra or brow chakra.

We will focus on the brow chakra, visualize a 2 petaled Indigo lotus with a sparkling grey lingham inside and chant Aum for 16 times. Make the ahhhh sound 3 times longer than the MMM when chanting. MMMM helps you to enter the dream realm. If you give more weight to MMMMM than the Ahhhh you may just fall asleep. So ideally Ahhhh is 3 counts, Ooooo is 2, and Mmmmm 1.

Now go get something to eat. Maybe some potato chips or french fries or peanut butter or fruit. Something that is from a plant.

Ready?

We will start a Sadhana For the Experience of the Dependently Arising Nature of Creation.

As you eat whatever food you have chosen, question if it is really a potato, a cup of coffee, a peanut butter sandwich, some fruit, whatever it is you are eating.

For example if you are looking at a french fry, let it tell you its story. See the potato, it was growing in the earth no so long ago. See the field it grew in, the sun shining on that field, the rain, the farmer, the dirt, what the farmer had for breakfast, the truck that brought his morning coffee to the store, the rubber on the tires, the rubber plantation near the rainforest, the monkey howling in the tree, the little girl who was awakened by that monkey, on and on. Wherever that french fry wants to take you, go with it.

Faster and faster the story will unfold and you will see that the entire universe went into the making of the food that you are holding now. Tremendous wonder and gratitude will occur. Soon it will become automatic and you will see the entire creation, the spontaneously growing process that we call the Universe in all that you see.

Now go deeper, ask the question "Can I see anything that is absolute?" The mind will start clocking in a sense. Tremendous gratitude and wonder is born as you see how the entire Universe is related to the simplest thing.

In this way seeing you can enter a state of a buddha. This state is a very functional pleasurable state. There is still a sense of seperate existence - a viewer and a view. However it is an appeasement of all obsessions. You will become highly efficient beings for the most part. This Seeing will help you to realize the dependently arising nature of the Universe.

For some time you will say during this sadhana (spiritual practice) to yourself "I see the french fry, I see it was from a potato. I see the dirt that was on the potato, the field the potato was in, the hoe that broke the soil. the steel factory that forged the hoe. The tree the handle on the hoe was made from, I see the birds in the tree….” and so forth.

It may seem stupid for some time as if you are talking to yourself. You may get bored. Then suddenly it can be like it takes off-this way of seeing and you will see the entire Universe, even in a grain of sand -how everything depends on another.

Buddha told his monks that he was a quail in a previous incarnation. I think about that and watch the quail running about in the desert. They are a lot like man. Quail can fly yet they seem to forget this for the most part and prefer to run.

The contemplation for now is once you reach this state of seeing: Try and see if you can find anything that is absolute or stands alone in this creation.

From a workshop with Dharma Dharini

Obsession With Wealth

At an early retreat the monks spoke of several obsessions that in essence are forms of madness. Among these obsessions are: obsession with a man or a woman, obsession with God and obsession with wealth.

Few consider that an obsession with wealth and the madness born of it also includes obsession with the wealth of others. We are seeing this largely in certain protest movements and political circles with redistribution (socialist/progressive) agendas.

Who would you perceive to be the mad one: The person who has attained prosperity through his or her labor and/or Grace or the one who is there demanding some of that wealth while chattering about fairness and greed?

Sutra of Love and Hate

Many have written with concerns about the political climate in the USA. The American people elected a being who ran on a platform of change which by ancient definition is closely related to hatred. Now more and more people are getting in touch with suffering.

The ancient seers had a way of distilling simple emotions into understandable terms, very much like sutras. It it is mind that takes what is there and builds to an often incomprehensible level.

Below is a sutra of love and hate:
"To love is to accept.
To hate is to desire change."

Years ago, a woman came to one of the retreats and announced that she was an embodiment of unconditional love. She wanted to hug everyone. She wore pink. There was a heart design on her shirt.

Later that day she spoke of her son and how she loved him unconditionally. I asked her what she would change about him if she could. She replied that she wished that he was not so lazy, would get better grades and that she would like to take him to get a hair cut and eat better. Sometimes he is rude to her and she would definately like that to change. As for her beloved husband, she wished he was this and this and this. It was quite a list. In any case that is not unconditional love. It is something else.

Take a moment now and look into your heart, find the desire to change. It is there you will find the hatred that you carry. Who is it that you would like to change the most? Is it you? See these things.

Do not try to change anything that is there as that would just be hating the hatred. Of what good would that be to you to be a hater of hatred? Just see what is there.

Look into your heart once again, and see what it is that you accept, what you embrace. What is it that you can just let be as it is? Is there one thing that is there that you would not change if you could?

This practice is a very ancient an effective way of realizing your condition. Of seeing why it is we suffer and cause others to suffer so. This realization of the condition is the very first step of a mystical, God centered path to enlightenment.

Wealth Blame And Consciousness

I spent some time with an enlightened sanyasi in India who was working for the transformation and enlightenment of several villages.

He told me that when this project was first started, if there was a common denominator in the fallen state of many of the people and in unenlightened societies in general. It was a hatred of, a mistrust of and a blaming of the rich.

As the consciousness was raised and the ignorance (that was very often behind the suffering of poverty or financial lack) was uprooted and states of Oneness were experienced, the people began to respect, bless and be happy for the more fortunate.

Thus the karma improved and poverty or material lack fell away. Laws of cause and effect were realized and personal responsibility was taken for ones actions or inactions and decisions. Many people began to discover their destiny-the life's work that brings the being joy. They too enjoyed an increase in prosperity.

It has long been realized by enlightenment cultures if there blaming there is not enough focus on the internal condition of suffering to help the person become enlightened. To blame is a game of the ego. There is a theme in the USA of blaming the rich. This dangerous pastime can lead to a retrograde culture and bring suffering to the land. History shows this.

The Golden Age is a period of prosperity and enlightenment. It can help a spiritual seeker's state to consider for a moment perhaps the wealthy are beings who have entered the Golden Age which is a state of consciousness as well as an astrological event.

When consciousness raises more and more wealthy people will emerge. As consciousness lessens the ego moves in and there is a great tendancy to try and lay blame. In general the individual or society falls deep into debt.

The Universe As A Sacred Horse

Brahadaranyaka Upanishad means the Great Forest Books. It begins with the description of the Universe as a Sacred or Sacrificial Horse:

"The head of is verily the Dawn; the eye of the Horse is the Sun; the vital force, the Air; the open mouth is the fire named Vaisvanara (lightening); the trunk is the year; the back, Heaven; the belly, the sky; the hoof, the earth; the flanks, the four directions; the ribs, the intermediate directions; the limbs, the seasons; the joints, the months and fortnights; the feet, the days and nights; the bones, the stars; the flesh, the clouds; the half-digested food (in the stomach), the sands; the arteries and veins, the rivers; the liver and spleen, the mountains; the hair, the herbs and trees; the forepart, the rising sun; the hind part, the setting sun. Its yawn is lightning, His body shakes, it thunders, he makes water -it rains, his voice is indeed all voices."

To meditate on and assume the divine qualities of the horse, the speed, the dynamic nature, devotion, power, faithfulness, grace, courage, strength is to realize an ultimate truth beyond the five senses, to enter Brahmaloka, the highest of the heavens.

Enlightenment and Debt

Before going to Satyaloka there was about 6 months of intense preparation. Somewhere in this blog is a list of the sadhanas (spiritual practices) that we adhered to. The monk that had come to help us prepare told me to also please be sure that I was out of debt. Material debt attacks personal power. It can be a great hindrence to spiritual development and liberation. Consider versions of the Lord's Prayer. "Forgive us our debts."

Just as the microcosm impact the macrocosm, the macrocosm deeply impacts the microcosm. There is personal karma, village karma, national karma and so on. If you think the debt of your country is not affecting your own spiritual development, think again. How are you separate? National debt can be a huge obstacle to transformation and enlightenment.

Take for example the United States. The federal government has not had a budget for over 2 years. Have you been able to adhere to your own household budget due to rising costs?

Consider for a moment that it took 42 presidents 224 years to run up $1 trillion dollars in foreign held dept. In the three some years that the current president has been in office the federal debt has increased by over 4 trillion dollars. This is more than the total national debt accumulated by all the United States Presidents in USA history from George Washington to George Bush combined.

During this short time, statics say the federal government has borrowed an additional $35,000+ for every American household. That is close to $45k for every full time private sector worker. In 986 days following the 2008 election, the debt increased at an average rate of over 4 and a quarter billion a day.

Do you ever stop to consider how this will impact your children and their children and their children and so on-the sins (karma) of the fathers?

"Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt." Herbert Hoover


Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/herbert_hoover.html#ixzz1nVOMTlfN

To see the USA national debt real time visit http://www.usdebtclock.org/.

To see a global comparison on how your country measures up click on the title of this post or visit http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock.

Be aware that among the obstacles to transformation and enlightenment, large material and karmic debt are among the largest and most formidable.

The Chicken Sees

There was a guru who one morning gave each of his 2 disciples a chicken.

He told them, "Each of you, go now and take your chicken to a place where no one will see, kill it and return to me."

The men walked away into the forest.

After a brief time one of the disciples returned with a dead chicken and presented it to the guru. Day turned into night and then into day. The guru waited. Just around sunset, the second disciple returned carrying the chicken that he had been given. It was very much alive.

The guru looked at him and said, "I told you to go to a place where no one will see and kill the chicken."

The man hung his head and replied, "Yes, Guruji. But everywhere I go, the chicken sees."

Kali Yuga

According to Vedic scriptures during Kaliyuga, the current age of darkness and ignorance:

Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly. Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their people and they will become a danger to the world.

All rulers occupying the earth in the Kali Age will be lacking tranquillity, but will be strong in anger, taking pleasure at all times in lying and dishonesty, prone to take the few meager possessions of others, with character that is mostly tamas (of darkeness ignorance, destruction, sloth), rising to power and soon falling. They will be short-lived, ambitious, of little virtue, nd greedy.

People will migrate seeking countries where wheat and barley are the staple food.

Avarice and wrath will be common, men will openly display animosity towards each other. Ignorance of dharma will occur. Lust will be viewed as being socially acceptable. People will have thoughts of murder for no justification, and they will see nothing wrong with this.

There will be no respect for animals.

Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.

In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man's good birth, right behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one's power.


A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one's hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

The End of The Western Horse Culture?

I moved in to an area of small ranches and horse properties in the Phoenix area about a decade ago. It was more common to see horses and riders on the road that automobiles. There are hitching posts at the convenience stores and at many homes. There is one in my front yard even. It was wonderful to live among so many horses.

The sound of hooves, their scent in the air, a soft whinny, how they called to other from ranch to ranch, the long legged wobbly beauty of the foals, the love in the mares' eyes, the grace with which they bore any burden, their joy over a few handfulls of hay, the hooves thundering in a cloud of dust. At night there would be campfires where modern day cowboys would gather and sing.

I was on the porch last evening when it struck me. I no longer smelled horses. In a landscape once rich with horses a couple short months ago there was not a single horse in sight. I ran to the back. There were no horses there anymore! Many of the horse properties are vacant now. Not too many families can afford to take care of horses anymore. Others, worried about rising hay and water costs, and rising vet fees, sold or gave their horses away before some really hard decisions had to be made.

As the economy suffered so did the horses. People lost their homes. Some could no longer afford to feed their horses or afford gasoline for their pick ups to bring in hay. Some turned their horses loose in the desert- a sure death. Others killed them in sad and terrible ways thinking it better than starvation. Many just could not afford to have their starving horses euthanized and removed. Some neglected horses were taken in and sometimes euthanized by rescue groups or the county, yet another terrible casualty of the Obama administration's failed economic policies.

As a result of all this, on November 18, Barrack Obama signed into law a spending bill that restored the American horse slaughter industry. That Thankgiving one turkey was pardoned in front of worldwide media, while behind the scenes, millions of horses were condemned to death. Slaughter was to be the Obama administration's solution in part for the abandonment and neglect born of the economic crisis. It is recorded that he signed the spending bill by autopen, using the automated signature device for the second time only in his presidency. In doing so, breaking yet another campaign promise-a promise to ban the slaughter of horses in the USA, including the export of horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

I wept when I heard this, wondering what other matter was of such little significance to him that bill did not even warrant being signed by hand. Perhaps he did not have the heart. Or maybe it was a matter of not having the courage. Maybe he just plain did not give a rat's ass. In any case the American taxpayers will now subsidize a foreign owned industry that exports horsemeat. These are animals not traditionally raised as food in the USA, but that is likely to change.

November 18, the day the bill was signed, was also the day of the East Asia Summit in Indonesia. Barrack Obama was said to be the first USA president to attend this conference. Much of the focus was on helping to open up markets to American exports. Horsemeat could soon be on our export list.

What would compell the government to want to to get back into the horse meat export business when the current administration appears to be more focused on destroying industry and jobs in the USA? On the other hand horse slaughterhouses traditionally burden a community with considerable environment enforcement costs. Surely a horse slaughterhouse in any community would drive away good businesses and stress the people as well as the economy. Anyone who has ever heard the screams of a terrified or dying horse can attest to that. Just the thought of it can reduce a grown man to tears. Perhaps the horse slaughterhouses are part of Barrack Obama's green jobs agenda, subsidized more often than not on the backs of the taxpayers. A bloody, hard won, 178 (roughly) low paying jobs.

A horse slaughterhouse may open in Arizona before long. A grim sign of the times-a monument to one more American tragedy arising from failed leadership and broken promises to the American people.

Modern Cowboys

I live in an area where there are a lot of "cowboys" and horses still. Some days I see more horses passing on the road than cars. There are hitching posts in every yard just about and even outside of the local convenience stores.

Some evenings the neighbors will gather around a fire and sing. There is a feeling that comes from the smell of the campfire and the horses, the sound of hooves, the sound of guitars, laughter and singing that is hard to describe. It is as if it is an ancient memory recognized and embraced by every cell of the body as songs of worship and joy and sounds of horses fill the night.

The horse accepts many burdens in the outer world and is also a willing helper in the spirit world. You could say the horse dwells in both worlds-symbolic of the power and grace of the Divine-a vehicle of ascension and enlightenment. To connect with a horse is to connect telepathically. The horse may take you places of which you have never dreamed.

If you would like to connect with and sponser a horse at a local rescue, click the title of this post. Even to pray for the horse if you cannot assist in the physical realm will bring a connection and benefit for both.

The Cabbit

I was at a County Fair in Pennsylvania and walked into a barn where a pet show was about to begin. There I met a a farmer who was grooming an animal that appeared to be half rabbit and half cat. The hindquarters, tail and back feet looked like that of a rabbit and the front half was that of a beautiful green-eyed cat. She was grey and white and the fur on the lower half of her body was soft like that of a rabbit.

The farmer said that she was a cabbit-a cross between a female cat and a male rabbit, that she only ate alfalfa and rabbit food, hopped like a rabbit, did not meow but was known to purr. He said that cabbits, like mules, are sterile.

I did not really believe him although I wanted to. She was a beautiful and intersting animal all the same. She really did look like a cat arising from a rabbit. The rabbit pellets and alfalfa in her cage added to her mystique. As if sensing my disbelief, the "cabbit" stood up on her hind legs like a rabbit, looked into my eyes and twitched her nose as if to say, "Are you sure?". Whatever she was I was certain that she would win the blue ribbon in the Most Unusual Pet category.

Apparently the judges did not agree, though, as the cabbit came in 5th-right behind a goat wearing a sundress.

Evolution of Politics

On 1 level Enlightenment is the ability to perceive reality as it is.




If my house was on fire, I can’t compromise about which part of the house I am going to save. You save the whole house, or it will all burn down.” Marco Rubio

Sadhanas for Flowering of the Heart & Deepening of Awareness

If true friendship is to flower the heart must flower. For the heart to flower you must be free of hurts.

Pick one suffering relationship and ask to feel the pain that that person caused you. From the midst of that pain ask for help in forgiving that person. See the lightening of the heart.

Now ask to experience the pain you caused that person. Surely you are not innocent. Ask to be in their shoes. See how harshly you judged that person and felt about them. How you have carried that hatred, kept the fire burning much of your life. From the midst of that pain ask for them to forgive you.

This is called right repentance. It will lead to the compassion (the word passion means pain-compassion is to feel the pain of others) and a flowering of the heart and perfection of relationship. It will help you to set right all of your relationships.

Life is relationship and the answer to the question: "How are my relationships?" is among the
best gauges of spiritual growth.

If you would like to go deeper and develop deep states of awareness, practice the following sadhana every night for 21 days. If you fall or backslide somewhat then simply continue:

At night before you go to bed, review your day and ask the Divine to show you if anyone hurt you that day. If so then ask to re-experience the pain that person caused you. From the midst of that pain ask the Divine to help you forgive that person. You must ask. If you could have done it on your own you would have by now. This is to suffer and forgive and it is Grace. To do this-to suffer and forgive- your nature will become Divine.

Now ask to see if you hurt anyone that day. Maybe it was not deliberate. However if you are suffering you will cause suffering to others. It is like that. An unhappy person brings happiness to no one. If you see you have hurt someone, even in passing, ask to experience the pain you caused that other being. Now ask the Divine to help that being to forgive you. You will develop tremendous compassion in this practice as well.

Next review your day and see if anyone asked you for help. The external action or lack thereof is not relevant. Pay close attention to what was there internally.

And finally ask yourself, "Am I happy?"

Namaste,

DD

From an Awakening the Antaryamin Workshop.

Miracles

Bhakti Marga-Mystical Path of Transformation and Enlightenment Transcript Segment:

The enlightened seers knew that when you discover that the small coincidences in your life are miracles, these coincidences will become greater and greater and soon your life will be filled with miracles. Coincidences are a way the Divine speaks to you. You need only see.

Rarely a month goes by that I do not get a petition or two in the inbox from a spiritual seeker wanting enough signatures to take some criminal action against the previous United States President, George Bush. This blaming can be a huge obstacle in the journey to transformation and enlightenment for if there is blaming there is not enough focus on the internal condition to be of much use to the seeker for spiritual pursuit.

The "Bush Bashing" or blaming Geroge Bush for anything and everything is a form of sorrow management or running from an internal condition of suffering. Some people manage their sorrow with food, others with drugs, some like to drink to run away from suffering. Others take prescriptions, complain or shop nonstop while more than a few appear to bash George Bush to manage their suffering. Running from sorrow will not lead to transformation or enlightenment. However seeing that you are running very well may.

The overwhelming and somewhat loud, support of the current administration by a seeming majority of spiritual seekers is as just as surprising as the petitions. The the election slogan, "Change" in the ancient sense of the word is closely linked with hatred.

The ancient enlightened ones defined love as acceptance and hatred as non acceptance evidenced by desiring change. For example a lady may say, "I hate this old furniture, I want to change it." She may say, "I hate my job or my life." and she will go to great lengths to make a change. A lady at one of the workshops told the group that she loved her child unconditionally, but confessed that she wished that he was not so sloppy and got better grades. She also wanted him to cut his hair and dress nicely. With the desire to change the boy, is unconditional love truly there or is this part of the illusion?

Look into your lives for a moment. What would you like to change if you could? Who would you like to change? Can you see it? Very good! It is there that you will find the hatred.

You must start from where you are not where we want to be. This requires tremendous courage and authenticity. The very first step in this ancient path of enlightenment is knowing that it is possible for you.

The second step is realizing your condition. Look how far you have come already in just a morning! Ok so you desire change. There is hatred there. What can you do? Do not run from the desire to change, the hatred in the heart. Embrace the condition. Whatever is there ask yourself if you can accept it. Why must you be an embodiment of unconditional love?

Step 3. Embrace the condition. You are more than half way there! I am so proud of you! You cannot pump love into the heart. You must only see that the heart may be empty of love. The rest is Grace.

Just know that the desire to change someone or something is an expression of non acceptance- AKA hatred. What can be expected of politicians who want to change a country or of a people that happily embraces such change mongers. A look into history would reveal all.

If you confuse change with transformation you will suffer and cause others to suffer. If you confuse reformation with transformation you could very well become like a living corpse-so tightly reined in that you feel you are very spiritually evolved because you do not feel anger or guilt or other deemed negative emotions. In a high state of reformation you do not feel such things. However the fact is a highly reformed person feels little at all.

If your heart is full of hatred, anger, any emotion deemed good or bad, enlightenment may come quickly for you. There is little hope for the living corpse. Why are you seeking to cut the emotion? To become like a living corpse? Why are you trying to stop the judgement? It is the nature of the mind to judge. It is how it finds a point of relativity in a dependently arising creation. You will make a mess of your life and spend your years judging the judgement if you battle it. You need only see that you are judging. See these things. The Universe is perfect. The suffering is in the perception.

Now back to the miracles. It has been a coincidence in my life is that quite often at meal times during spiritual gatherings the subject turns to bashing George Bush. One morning I was having breakfast in Sedona with a well known enlightened guru and some of his followers, and this particular morning was no different. Comparisons of George Bush and the antiChrist were floating about. The guru said nothing. I commented that I thought that George Bush has a reasonably well defined Kalki aspect (according to tradition Kalki is the 10th avatar or incarnation of Vishnu. Buddha, Rama and Krishna were previous incarnations. Kalki is depicted as a warrior, carrying a sword upon a white horse).

An uncomfortable silence came. Some glared, some smirked, some stared at their plates, others looked expectantly at the guru, waiting for his response. I braced for lightening to strike, to spontaneously combust or at the very least be asked to leave the table. The guru stared at me for what seemed like a million years. Then the unexpected happened. He slammed his hand down on the table and said, "That's it! George Bush is the Kalki Avatar! Look at him! So brave he is, He shielded a secret service man with his own body-pushed him out of danger! He said this and this and this to North Korea" and so on.

Silence.

Then the guru looked across the room at the door. "There on the door.-do you see the miracle there?"

We looked. A single ray of sun was streaming through the glass on the door. The name of the restaurant, "Maria's", was painted on the glass. From the inside it read backwards-"s'airaM"

"Sai Ram"

Maria's backwards spells Sai Ram.

"These little things are the miracles," he said. "You must see this. It is a miracle that we came here and saw this."

I have been going through a stormy time in my life recently and there is not always clarity. Several nights ago, I was driving past a Ramada Inn in Phoenix. There were some homeless people down the street slowly pushing a cart. A small fender bender around the corner. Someone sitting near the highway begging. Another giving. Horns were honking. Radios playing. Palm trees were swaying. A crow flew by. Pigeons rose from the roof tops. A leaf fell. Rising and falling in a state of perfection. The "Do Not Walk Sign" flashed. A plastic cup blew down the street only to be crushed by a truck. A storm was coming. And the wonder of it all.

Two lights were burned out on the Ramada sign: the "D" and the "A".

"Rama"

Peace came.

Yes, these are the miracles.....

Perception

Looking back, much of the journey of transformation and enlightenment (liberation from suffering) is a shift in perception. There are times I suspect that is all there is too it. Once suffering is embraced it is no longer suffering. In any case, a shift in perception plays a huge role in shamanism.

Einstein, when asked what he thought was the most important question facing humanity today, replied,

"I think the most important question facing humanity is, 'Is the universe a friendly place?' This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves."

Among the most important questions you can ask yourself in the journey of transformation and enlightenment is the question: "Is the suffering in the fact or in the perception of the fact?"

If the suffering is truly in the fact, take for example a state of poverty, you would have to find that all who were poor or who have taken a vow of poverty are suffering from poverty. Poverty may be one person's suffering yet not that of another. To another there may be no suffering in it at all. Suffering is relative. It is in the perception. In this seeing lies a great key.

Even the perception of a symbol may shift. At one time the wolf was despised and feared. To say "the wolves were at the door" could mean you were very close to death of starvation. In the mind of man, the symbolism of the wolf was fearsome.

By the 1890's the wildness that was once the American Western frontier was in tatters. Very few of the great herds of elk and bison remained. It was the era of the cattlemen. The cattle were poorly adapted and starvation and death from thirst were a reality. There were also wolves for which the slow, not all that bright, cattle were an easy meal.

So the wolves killed the cattle and the cattlemen killed the wolves with poison, traps and rifles. Only the most stealthy of the wolves survived, and they continued to kill and eat the cattle. Among them was a wolf by the name of Lobo. So stealthy and preditory he was that there was a $1000 bounty placed on his head.

In 1893, an Englishman by the name of Seton, traveled from Canada to the New Mexico Territory to kill Lobo and claim the bounty. His ancestors were said to have played a part in the extermination of UK wolves, and he thought it would be an easy job-a few weeks work is all. Yet for some time Lobo outsmarted Seton at every turn. It was almost as if Lobo was supernatural.

Lobo had a mate, a white wolf name Bianca. As it turned out his love for her was his downfall. Bianca was not as cunning as Lobo, and one night Seton managed to capture her. He found Bianca howling in a trap with Lobo at her side.

Lobo ran off when the men approached, but continued to watch from a distance. The men lassoed Bianca and tied the other end of the rope to the horses. Then they ran the horses hard, dragging her until her neck was broken. Lobo watched on and began to howl.

Seton took Bianca's body home. Lobo searched and searched for her, even showing up on Seton's doorstep in his seeking. It was then that Seton had discovered Lobo's weakness. He rubbed some traps with Bianca's scent and set them.

The next night Lobo was captured. Yet Seton could not bring himself to kill Lobo. Instead he roped him, muzzled him and took him on a chain to a nearby ranch.

Lobo died that night. Whether is was from a desire for freedom, the stress of captivity, bad health, or a broken heart, no one really knows.

After Lobo's death, Seton became perhaps the world's first wolf advocate and before long, the wolf became a symbol of untamed beauty and the wildness that once was. Efforts were made to conserve wolves, not annilate them.

Man's perception of the wolf had changed with the death of Lobo.

For more on the story of Lobo vist http://blogs.dogtime.com/retrievermans-weblog/2010/11/the-story-of-lobo

For a documentary click the title above or go to http://www.etsetoninstitute.org/lobo-bbc/

The Elders

The Elders sat in the back of the Chinese Restaurant
And passed the pipe
The moon watched from the round window
The eldest of the old.
I saw no reason to worship the young.

DD

Bhagavan On The Antaryamin

Bhagavan on the Antaryamin:

Q: Who is god? Is God one or many?

Bhagavan:

"God is both the manifest and the un-manifest. The un-manifest God is unknown. The manifest God is known, as presence as light or as a form. God also manifests in places and icons, God also manifests through miracles, God manifests as the antaryamin, God also manifests in human beings as avatars. These are the expressions of God."

Q: What is the Antaryaminand how does the Antaryamin awaken in us?

Bhagavan:

"We often use the word God, but God means different things to different people. But actually we can define God as your higher sacred self, higher intelligence, or higher consciousness.

Sometimes you might have seen hundreds of birds flying like one bird. Have you seen this? So, actually you can know that the whole group has got a single consciousness, but the individual bird will follow the consciousness of the whole pack. Sometimes you will find one or two birds dropping out and again they get back to the main flock. If we say that the individual bird is you, then that full total bird consisting of all birds is the Antaryamin. It can be called God or higher intelligence etc. So when we say you have the Antaryamin or that Antaryamin is awakened , what it means is you are the part, are in touch with the whole. In the flock of birds, if one bird drops out of the group, two or three birds come out and help that bird to go and join back. Only then the whole thing can function. So as long as the small bird is following the big pack, you can say the small bird is following the will of the group or the pack. So if you have the Antaryamin and can talk with Him, then, ‘You’, the part is following the will of the whole or the Divine will. So it is not enough if you are willing to follow the Divine will, you must know what the Divine will is, what the will is of the higher consciousness, without which you are like a bird fallen of the pack.

You are in fact an orphan. The Antaryamin is the Whole, and to have the Antaryamin means you are in touch with the whole. The whole of human consciousness put together is more than the individual’s consciousness. It is not 1 + 1 = 2 but it is 1 +1 = 4. That is what is “Synergetic emergence”. Hydrogen and oxygen fuse to form water, whose properties are totally and fundamentally different from hydrogen and oxygen. This emerging consciousness is called God or Cosmic consciousness. And this cosmic consciousness is what is the Antaryamin.

The Antaryamin is you inner guide and your supreme friend who can guide you and protect you. Today many a time you are in conflict. What is right and wrong? what is good and bad? You unable to decide this. Even when you decide, many times you regret your decisions. But when the Antaryamin is awakened, you will exactly know how to respond to every situation of life. At every step you will have someone to guide you, on whom you can trust and who accepts you exactly as you are. And also when you have the Antaryamin, enlightenment is very easy.

So until now we have seen what is the Antaryamin and why do you need an Antaryamin. Now I will tell you how the awakening of the Antaryamin actually happens. Basically in our society, the kind of schooling, education and life style one has, you are not allowed to experience and express your emotions. You are quite suppressed. That is why some have difficulty in getting in touch with their Antaryamin. So once you have got in touch with your suppressed emotions and if you invite the Antaryamin with your whole heart, it will awaken in you in the way it chooses or in the form you desire. To have the Antaryamin is the natural state of Man, it is your birthright; it is just like breathing or digesting. In the Ancient days everybody was in touch with their Antaryamin. There were tribes in Africa a hundred years ago, who where in direct communion with their Antaryamin. They lived a wonderful life. All that you must do is, from your heart, with emotion, with great feeling and with a bond, a liking, you must invite the Antaryamin and then it will awaken in you. It is not at all difficult. You think it is difficult and have all kinds of wrong perceptions. The Antaryamin is not bothered about what kind of a person you are. The Antaryamin is your friend and so doesn’t judge you or condemn you. All it wants is that you invite it with a feeling and a bond.........."

The Awakening of the Antaryamin

Life is full of wonder and totally Divine. You do not need to understand-only live. You kiss the grass in the garden because there is grass in the garden.

And then the time comes when the gratitude is so great it overcomes you, the heart becomes very Light. You become it. You bow to your own divinity and laugh. Heaven has met Earth. Inside they are no longer at war.

Gratitude, she is the great annihilator of suffering. The bearer of enlightenment.......

Dharma Dharini

Aug 6, Prayer and Mantra To Set Right World Finances

Recently I learned a mantra from Siva Baba. It is to set right finances of the world. For those who do not know of Siva Baba, he is a great master from the Siddha tradition of Tamil Nadu. Some know him as "Guruji" from Wayne Dyer's book, "Manifest Your Destiny." Many years ago I helped to coordinate some events for him in Phoenix. A master of manifestation, he helped the people in a very big way. Few in my life have ever been kinder to me.

I use mantras that I have learned for him almost daily as do many of my students. They are tremendous tools and extremely powerful.

I do not know what will happen with the chanting of this mantra so will be gathering with some friends to see. I do know that praying for others does strengthen the Karma Maya Kosha or karmic energy body and helps you to cultivate positive karma and that may in turn positively impact your own household's finances. Just to perfect 1 Kosha only can lead to enlightenment.

So if you would like to join us (expected group is 800 so far) from wherever you may be we welcome you!


Global Prayer and Mantra to set right World Finances.
Aug 6, 5:44 AM Phoenix Time or Sunrise Wherever You Are

In a little over a year our national debt has increased from $10.626,877,048,913 in Jan of 09 to $13,301,637,817,151 as of Aug 3, 2010. Other countries are in serious economic trouble as well, as are many households. Mystics have repeated told that not much can happen unless the Divine steps in. So as a group we will ask the Divine and recite a mantra for this specific purpose.

Here is the format:

Get up beforehand and shower or bathe. If not possible wash your hands and face.
Face East (where the Sun is)
If you are not outside then light a candle before you.
Simply pray, "Lord, please step in and set right the finances of the world. You must do this now."
Chant the mantra "Om Brzee Namaha 108 or better yet 1008 times if time allows.

Sometime during the day give some money away to someone or to a charity and/or pay off a debt.
We will do this practice and then watch for signs. You can email experiences to me at dharma@vedicshamanism.com .

Hope to connect with you on the 6th!


Namaste,
Dharma Dharini
www.vedicshamanism.com

The Mantra: