I love going to Las Vegas, though I haven't been in recent years. When I've gone I've invested no more than $20, playing a few rounds of Keno, as I'm not a gambler. But I love going for the atmosphere and the shows.
I love going to Disneyworld, though I haven’t been in recent years. In Disneyworld, too, I mostly enjoy the atmosphere and a few of the less challenging rides, like "It's a Small World!"
Yet, I have this urge to visit both soon!
Why?
“I’m forgetting!”
There a story about a little girl named Satchi.
Satchi
Soon after her brother was born, little Sachi began
to ask her parents to leave her alone with the new
baby. They worried that like most four-year-olds, she might
feel jealous and want to hit or shake him, so they said no.
But Sachi showed no signs of jealousy. She treated the baby with kindness
And her pleas to be left alone with him became more urgent. They decided
to allow it.
Elated, Sachi went into the baby’s room and shut the door, but it opened
A crack—enough for her curious parents to peek in and listen. They saw
Little Sachi walk quietly up to her baby brother, put her face close to his and say quietly, “Baby, tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.”
Dan Millman reported in “Chicken Soup for the Soul.”
Similarly, I’m starting to forget the feeling of happy people everywhere, as I turn these days.
People are stressed out about the upcoming elections and who is going to win in November. Each person wants his or her own candidate to win to turn things around.
People are stressed out about high prices everywhere. Even in Walmart, known for lower prices, I saw someone stating that something was too “high” priced.
Life!
Happy people! Joyous people!
People who have high hopes.
People who BELIEVE!
The next step I take.
The next move that I make...
Will be the one.
At the "Black Jack" table in Vegas. At “Craps.”
There’s hope in the next card being the “right” one.
On the rides at Disneyworld.
There’s hope in the ride producing just the right excitement.
The fantasy. The sheer fantasy at Disneyworld takes you...
to a different level.
The same in Vegas.
In both places you suspend your worries. You transcend your life circumstances.
You are able to live in the current reality, i.e. the MOMENT. The Present Moment.
You are able to see JOY in the Moment.
Faith in the next step.
Hope for the future.
Wish I could get back that “feeling” I get in Disneyworld and Vegas.
Wish I can find all those...
"happy" people...everywhere.
Most of the mementos I get from Disney and other vacation places, I give away.
But over the years...many years...I’ve kept one:
“Remember the Magic!”
So, here it is ...the last day of August.
Summer’s almost gone.
Fall's a’coming. Winter, too.
Like Sachi, I’m beginning to forget!
So this morning, I got up and realized.
I’m not like Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz, who isn’t in
Kansas anymore!
I CAN “Remember the Magic!”
I CAN be in Disneyworld NOW! I CAN BE in Vegas NOW!
If both places are just about a “feeling,” i.e. a belief in the “goodness” and “rightness” of the world... then, I CAN BE in both places NOW!
All I have to do to get there ...is to get quiet within...
...before I begin my day.
I can find “Gold” there!
I can find “God.”
If only I can reach in....touch my core...and Let Go!
I got an e-mail from someone today, too, that talked about "Letting Go:"
“When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust him fully and Let Go. One of two things will happen: He’ll either catch you when you fall, or he’ll teach you how to fly!”
Well my pulse is racing...just like at a Craps table... or seeing the roulette wheel move...
My pulse’s a’racing...right here ...right now...
I’m learning how to fly.
I am in Vegas Now!
No...I am in Disneyworld NOW!
I’m...letting go...
...and learning how to fly!
Wanna join me?
Don’t wait to go to Vegas or to Disneyworld to get that feeling!
Learn how to fly NOW!
Then... you’ll say like me:
“I have the MAGIC of the Moment in Me!”
Namaste’,
Che’
Helping you to Return to the Wholeness that YOU ARE! Helping you to KNOW that the Spirit of God IS Within YOU!
Leo Tolstoy on God
LEO TOLSTOY ON GOD: "When you look inside yourself, you see what is called 'your own self' or your soul. You cannot touch it or see it or understand it, but you know it is there. And this part of yourself--that which you cannot understand--is what is called God. God is both around us and inside of us--in our souls.
The more you understand that you are at one with God, the more you will understand that you are at one with all His worldly manifestations."
The more you understand that you are at one with God, the more you will understand that you are at one with all His worldly manifestations."
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
45 Years Ago...Today: "I Have A Dream!"
Forty-five years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. In those 45 years, much has changed for the good. Unfortunately, though, not "all" has changed for the good.
Today, many people still are judged not by the quality of their contributions to society and the workplace, but still by their race and the color of their skin.
It would have been unrealistic to expect the world to change to such a point that all people would have advanced beyond race and color. But certainly in 2008, one would expect that qualified men and women could apply for jobs and be considered purely on their qualifications, i.e. they would not be excluded solely because of their race.
Indeed a greater "education" is needed than teaching people about fairness and about following the law! Laws may be implemented to stop people from "trying" to discriminate against others because of race and color. But until the SPIRIT of the law is applied forcefully by all corporations, individual workers will continue to circumvent the laws and skirt the issues of what is right and fair.
Once again...we all have to learn about "SPIRIT"....whether it is within the indvidual or within the corporation.
Until the SPIRIT of the Civil Rights law, too, is promoted by corporations, no real changes will occur.
Please enjoy, once again, MLK's powerful, "I Have A Dream Speech!" by clicking, or cutting and pasting, this link:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Let's celebrate the fact that despite all the work that still needs to be done, we have come very far as a nation!
Tonight as I write this, I await Senator Barack Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. This is the first such nomination for an African-American in either one of the two major political parties in the United Sates.
Eventually, I believe "SPIRIT," too, will triumph everywhere!
Namaste',
Che'
Today, many people still are judged not by the quality of their contributions to society and the workplace, but still by their race and the color of their skin.
It would have been unrealistic to expect the world to change to such a point that all people would have advanced beyond race and color. But certainly in 2008, one would expect that qualified men and women could apply for jobs and be considered purely on their qualifications, i.e. they would not be excluded solely because of their race.
Indeed a greater "education" is needed than teaching people about fairness and about following the law! Laws may be implemented to stop people from "trying" to discriminate against others because of race and color. But until the SPIRIT of the law is applied forcefully by all corporations, individual workers will continue to circumvent the laws and skirt the issues of what is right and fair.
Once again...we all have to learn about "SPIRIT"....whether it is within the indvidual or within the corporation.
Until the SPIRIT of the Civil Rights law, too, is promoted by corporations, no real changes will occur.
Please enjoy, once again, MLK's powerful, "I Have A Dream Speech!" by clicking, or cutting and pasting, this link:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Let's celebrate the fact that despite all the work that still needs to be done, we have come very far as a nation!
Tonight as I write this, I await Senator Barack Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. This is the first such nomination for an African-American in either one of the two major political parties in the United Sates.
Eventually, I believe "SPIRIT," too, will triumph everywhere!
Namaste',
Che'
Sunday, August 24, 2008
A "Straight" Eye Into the "Queer" World!
Years ago, when I first discovered that the word “gay” was being used to describe a homosexual person, I said "Damn!”
I loved the word, “gay,” and resented that its meaning was now being somewhat subverted to describe a group of people I did not then understand.
Then, when I bought a beautiful glass piece with a rainbow painted on it at a fair and soon after I displayed it found out it was a symbol used for “gayness," I said "S...!"
That pretty much summed up my feelings toward homosexuals for many years: ***"Damns...!"
I just didn’t understand the world of homosexuality...didn’t care to... and didn’t want to know!
But with my growing spirituality and constant striving to be “authentic” in all that I did in my interactions with people, I knew I needed to make it my business to UNDERSTAND!
"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?" Romans 14:10
I MUST have sent up a silent prayer.
One summer at Unity Village, the most beautiful man, the most impactful spiritual teacher I had that year turned out to be a gay man. I began to feel even more uncomfortable with my “damns...!” attitude.
You also can imagine how challenging this “damns...!” attitude was to someone who lived just outside San Francisco, the city known for its openness to the gay lifestyle and one that each year hosts the largest “Gay Parade” through its streets.
"DAMNS...!"
My Spirit was waiting for me another summer at Unity Village when I partnered with a woman in a class on "Discover the Power Within You." We were not assigned as partners; “Spirit” connected us from the first day of class when we said "hello" in not, one, but in two classes that week.
Being partners that week meant that we supported each other in our prayer requests and in our class work together. This blonde, blue-eyed woman was to be my alter ego for the week: “Okay, Spirit!”
My partner must have waited for the right time, on the right day, to share her prayer request with me: I don’t recall WHEN it happened. All I remember so clearly is hearing her words, seeing her tears, feeling her fear and her pain: She had gotten divorced not long before because she was finally being true to herself. She was now in love with a woman but did not know how to come “out” to the world.
She was excited about her bold step, but she was scared about the implications and the way of the future for her.
That week, I cried with my prayer partner. I asked God to guide us in our work together, and I especially asked him to ease her pain and fears.
As the week wore on and the impact of our studies on our Spiritual self became more practiced in both of us, we began to laugh more, relax and “know” that God was being God through both of us.
I was at Unity Village for two weeks that summer, as was my partner. We continued to support each other in prayer even in the second week when no class required it.
We did so because we’d become friends!
That summer at Unity Village changed my perspective on gayness and homosexuality. I thank God for it, and I give glory to the Spirit within me and also operating in the Universe!
No longer do I feel puzzled or troubled by gay people. I am at peace whenever I’m in the company of a gay person, man or woman.
I’ve learned this: The sexual preference of homosexuals is absolutely NONE of my business! The only thing people who are "straight" need to understand about any homosexual person is his or her heart! Once you look into the person's heart, you'll know the TRUTH!... you'll open your heart to love the person...anyway! That's what a loving Spirit...a loving God...wants us to do!
"You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free!" John 8:32
My TRUTH tells me that it is my business to look into the Spirit of a person, gay, or not gay, and love them just as they are!
Beyond this, I’ve discovered a TRUTH that if we all pay attention we ALL can celebrate: Gay people are shining their Spirit and their light into the world, making it brighter, lighter and more loving than when they were forced to hide in the closet!
Just look around and see!
Gay people are now adopting kids, providing a home, security and a future that many kids would not have otherwise, and especially if relegated to the foster-care system.
This lesson was brought home to me a few weeks ago when I was at a friend’s home in San Francisco.
I was visiting with my friend and her sister who lived nearby.
The sister’s granddaughters stopped in, too, after a while to say hello to their aunt.
I hadn’t seen either girl since they were babies. Now, they were 13 and 17 years old, each with a different set of parents.
I knew the younger of the two girls, the 13 year old, was adopted at birth by the gay daughter of my friend’s sister and the daughter’s partner. The 17 year old was the daughter of my friend’s sister’s son.
(Wow! What a mouthful!)
I’m still in awe of the phenomenon that has occurred in both these teenagers’ lives, intersecting now at the home of the gay couple.
The younger girl introduced herself to me with such poise and grace that I was struck by that. As we continued to speak, I realized that this teenager was not your usual little adult coming of age. She was a young woman of Presence and fully in control of herself and her world.
I remarked about this and she said that it was the private school she attended that instilled strong values in the girls there. She also said it was her parents, i.e. her lesbian parents.
Well, I knew that.
I’ve truly been exposed to kids at different levels at different schools, private and public. I knew ONLY parents instilling certain values at home would truly make a difference, such a tremendously powerful difference!
About two weeks later, I was in conversation with one of the parents of this young girl. We spent a long time talking together, as I learned more and more about the lesbian couple’s philosophy towards life and their feeling of duty and obligations to the world.
Truly Solid! Truly Spiritual!
I would have left it there but then I asked why she kept referring to the “girls”, i.e. did they “adopt” a second child?
"Yes and No," the gay woman explained.
You see the second girl, the older of the two first cousins, had moved into their home, too, about a year or so ago.
I was curious about this, as the older teenager was very outgoing and seemed fun loving and carefree. She also was boy crazy!
"We didn't officially adopt her," my lesbian friend explained, "but she's our “child” too.
She had come to the lesbian couple a few years ago and asked them to be her “parents.” She knew she needed guidance and a family where “love” would show her the way to mature fully and properly into adulthood. They had taken her in.
I looked at my friend in awe.
As I walked away, I thought, "A 15 or 16 year old asking for guidance!?"
"Now THAT... is some COOL DAMNS...!!!”
Some REALLY c-o-ol "DAMNS..."of which rainbows are made!
Namaste’,
Che’
***NOTE: I used my original language to keep it all "real!" This also shows how far I've come in my understanding and acceptance of homosexuality.
I loved the word, “gay,” and resented that its meaning was now being somewhat subverted to describe a group of people I did not then understand.
Then, when I bought a beautiful glass piece with a rainbow painted on it at a fair and soon after I displayed it found out it was a symbol used for “gayness," I said "S...!"
That pretty much summed up my feelings toward homosexuals for many years: ***"Damns...!"
I just didn’t understand the world of homosexuality...didn’t care to... and didn’t want to know!
But with my growing spirituality and constant striving to be “authentic” in all that I did in my interactions with people, I knew I needed to make it my business to UNDERSTAND!
"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?" Romans 14:10
I MUST have sent up a silent prayer.
One summer at Unity Village, the most beautiful man, the most impactful spiritual teacher I had that year turned out to be a gay man. I began to feel even more uncomfortable with my “damns...!” attitude.
You also can imagine how challenging this “damns...!” attitude was to someone who lived just outside San Francisco, the city known for its openness to the gay lifestyle and one that each year hosts the largest “Gay Parade” through its streets.
"DAMNS...!"
My Spirit was waiting for me another summer at Unity Village when I partnered with a woman in a class on "Discover the Power Within You." We were not assigned as partners; “Spirit” connected us from the first day of class when we said "hello" in not, one, but in two classes that week.
Being partners that week meant that we supported each other in our prayer requests and in our class work together. This blonde, blue-eyed woman was to be my alter ego for the week: “Okay, Spirit!”
My partner must have waited for the right time, on the right day, to share her prayer request with me: I don’t recall WHEN it happened. All I remember so clearly is hearing her words, seeing her tears, feeling her fear and her pain: She had gotten divorced not long before because she was finally being true to herself. She was now in love with a woman but did not know how to come “out” to the world.
She was excited about her bold step, but she was scared about the implications and the way of the future for her.
That week, I cried with my prayer partner. I asked God to guide us in our work together, and I especially asked him to ease her pain and fears.
As the week wore on and the impact of our studies on our Spiritual self became more practiced in both of us, we began to laugh more, relax and “know” that God was being God through both of us.
I was at Unity Village for two weeks that summer, as was my partner. We continued to support each other in prayer even in the second week when no class required it.
We did so because we’d become friends!
That summer at Unity Village changed my perspective on gayness and homosexuality. I thank God for it, and I give glory to the Spirit within me and also operating in the Universe!
No longer do I feel puzzled or troubled by gay people. I am at peace whenever I’m in the company of a gay person, man or woman.
I’ve learned this: The sexual preference of homosexuals is absolutely NONE of my business! The only thing people who are "straight" need to understand about any homosexual person is his or her heart! Once you look into the person's heart, you'll know the TRUTH!... you'll open your heart to love the person...anyway! That's what a loving Spirit...a loving God...wants us to do!
"You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free!" John 8:32
My TRUTH tells me that it is my business to look into the Spirit of a person, gay, or not gay, and love them just as they are!
Beyond this, I’ve discovered a TRUTH that if we all pay attention we ALL can celebrate: Gay people are shining their Spirit and their light into the world, making it brighter, lighter and more loving than when they were forced to hide in the closet!
Just look around and see!
Gay people are now adopting kids, providing a home, security and a future that many kids would not have otherwise, and especially if relegated to the foster-care system.
This lesson was brought home to me a few weeks ago when I was at a friend’s home in San Francisco.
I was visiting with my friend and her sister who lived nearby.
The sister’s granddaughters stopped in, too, after a while to say hello to their aunt.
I hadn’t seen either girl since they were babies. Now, they were 13 and 17 years old, each with a different set of parents.
I knew the younger of the two girls, the 13 year old, was adopted at birth by the gay daughter of my friend’s sister and the daughter’s partner. The 17 year old was the daughter of my friend’s sister’s son.
(Wow! What a mouthful!)
I’m still in awe of the phenomenon that has occurred in both these teenagers’ lives, intersecting now at the home of the gay couple.
The younger girl introduced herself to me with such poise and grace that I was struck by that. As we continued to speak, I realized that this teenager was not your usual little adult coming of age. She was a young woman of Presence and fully in control of herself and her world.
I remarked about this and she said that it was the private school she attended that instilled strong values in the girls there. She also said it was her parents, i.e. her lesbian parents.
Well, I knew that.
I’ve truly been exposed to kids at different levels at different schools, private and public. I knew ONLY parents instilling certain values at home would truly make a difference, such a tremendously powerful difference!
About two weeks later, I was in conversation with one of the parents of this young girl. We spent a long time talking together, as I learned more and more about the lesbian couple’s philosophy towards life and their feeling of duty and obligations to the world.
Truly Solid! Truly Spiritual!
I would have left it there but then I asked why she kept referring to the “girls”, i.e. did they “adopt” a second child?
"Yes and No," the gay woman explained.
You see the second girl, the older of the two first cousins, had moved into their home, too, about a year or so ago.
I was curious about this, as the older teenager was very outgoing and seemed fun loving and carefree. She also was boy crazy!
"We didn't officially adopt her," my lesbian friend explained, "but she's our “child” too.
She had come to the lesbian couple a few years ago and asked them to be her “parents.” She knew she needed guidance and a family where “love” would show her the way to mature fully and properly into adulthood. They had taken her in.
I looked at my friend in awe.
As I walked away, I thought, "A 15 or 16 year old asking for guidance!?"
"Now THAT... is some COOL DAMNS...!!!”
Some REALLY c-o-ol "DAMNS..."of which rainbows are made!
Namaste’,
Che’
***NOTE: I used my original language to keep it all "real!" This also shows how far I've come in my understanding and acceptance of homosexuality.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Book Review: "The Penny," a novel by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford
I’d put off purchasing this novel as long as I could, but eventually my love for “the penny,” overcame me.
I was curious as anything to read this book from the first time I saw it at a Target bookstore shelf. (This is not normally my place for purchasing books, but that’s where sometimes you find hidden “treasures” ). The reason I didn’t want to buy it was simple: I don’t read many fictional books.
Eventually, though, I decided that of the five fictions I allow myself to read each year, THIS, should be one. I squeezed the book in with an amazon.com order. I’m so happy that I did.
As I’ve recounted earlier in this blog, I’ve always loved pennies. They have special significance for me, and when I’d lost my huge keepsake penny after many years, I was beside myself for a few days. I did not settle down, until I finally heard Spirit’s message to me about “the penny” and found peace.
That’s the same level of peace you’ll find as you get to the last page of Meyer’s and Bedford’s “The Penny.”
The novel starts off with Jenny, a 14-year-old girl living in St. Louis, who has a troubled family history. When Jenny finds “the penny” at the beginning of the novel, this sets off a chain of events in her life and in the lives of many others. The unfolding of events continue until the very last pages of the book.
Meyer and Bedford deliver a tale about sex abuse, life’s disappointments and pains, in a compassionate and healing way.
Jenny and her older sister, Jean, live in the shadows of their classmates and friends because of fear and lack of self worth. Slowly, the story about their lives is told. You read of the horror and fear these teenage girls struggle through on a daily basis.
Jenny’s and Jean’s story grips you in a way that you, too, begin to feel helpless and frustrated at the circumstances and conditions that would allow such horror to continue, even as these teenagers struggle to come of age. You will find yourself reading very slowly, i.e. a few pages at most a day, so as to capture each detail and message, but mostly not be wrenched emotionally by what you’re reading... you’re still haunted each time you pick the book up and...long after... you put it down on any evening.
You begin to question, like Jenny, where is God in all this? WHEN...WHERE...is he going to show up?
Slowly, slowly, Meyer and Bedford lead you to Jenny’s developing faith in God in the midst of the crises, even as she encounters greater challenges that must be overcome. Eventually, you begin to long for the mysterious Miss Shaw, Jenny’s Guardian Angel, to appear and keep appearing more and showing up more in this teenager’s life.
With unconditional love and total grace, Miss Shaw is able to melt Jenny’s hard reserve and resolve not to share her pain. As that thick wall starts crumbling, we also witness the transformation and uncovering of the mystery and secrets that Miss Shaw herself carried tightly wrapped up within herself.
For Jenny, the more pennies she found along the way, the more determined she became in spirit!
The more she reached within herself to rebuild the years “the locust had eaten away,” the more her beautiful spirit begins to shine.
With Jenny’s increasing courage, we witness her increasing compassion and love for others around her in her daily walk in life.
There comes a time in this delightful novel, where Jenny begins to fully believe in the “magic” of the penny and begins herself to give them away. As she does, touching more people as her strength of spirit and faith increase, we too are able to see the “penny magic” returned to her in a touching way.
This little thing, “The Penny,” touching so many lives with its magic!
May you find the same magic, delight and joy in this novel, as I did in all its wonderful 243 pages!
Namaste’,
Che’
I was curious as anything to read this book from the first time I saw it at a Target bookstore shelf. (This is not normally my place for purchasing books, but that’s where sometimes you find hidden “treasures” ). The reason I didn’t want to buy it was simple: I don’t read many fictional books.
Eventually, though, I decided that of the five fictions I allow myself to read each year, THIS, should be one. I squeezed the book in with an amazon.com order. I’m so happy that I did.
As I’ve recounted earlier in this blog, I’ve always loved pennies. They have special significance for me, and when I’d lost my huge keepsake penny after many years, I was beside myself for a few days. I did not settle down, until I finally heard Spirit’s message to me about “the penny” and found peace.
That’s the same level of peace you’ll find as you get to the last page of Meyer’s and Bedford’s “The Penny.”
The novel starts off with Jenny, a 14-year-old girl living in St. Louis, who has a troubled family history. When Jenny finds “the penny” at the beginning of the novel, this sets off a chain of events in her life and in the lives of many others. The unfolding of events continue until the very last pages of the book.
Meyer and Bedford deliver a tale about sex abuse, life’s disappointments and pains, in a compassionate and healing way.
Jenny and her older sister, Jean, live in the shadows of their classmates and friends because of fear and lack of self worth. Slowly, the story about their lives is told. You read of the horror and fear these teenage girls struggle through on a daily basis.
Jenny’s and Jean’s story grips you in a way that you, too, begin to feel helpless and frustrated at the circumstances and conditions that would allow such horror to continue, even as these teenagers struggle to come of age. You will find yourself reading very slowly, i.e. a few pages at most a day, so as to capture each detail and message, but mostly not be wrenched emotionally by what you’re reading... you’re still haunted each time you pick the book up and...long after... you put it down on any evening.
You begin to question, like Jenny, where is God in all this? WHEN...WHERE...is he going to show up?
Slowly, slowly, Meyer and Bedford lead you to Jenny’s developing faith in God in the midst of the crises, even as she encounters greater challenges that must be overcome. Eventually, you begin to long for the mysterious Miss Shaw, Jenny’s Guardian Angel, to appear and keep appearing more and showing up more in this teenager’s life.
With unconditional love and total grace, Miss Shaw is able to melt Jenny’s hard reserve and resolve not to share her pain. As that thick wall starts crumbling, we also witness the transformation and uncovering of the mystery and secrets that Miss Shaw herself carried tightly wrapped up within herself.
For Jenny, the more pennies she found along the way, the more determined she became in spirit!
The more she reached within herself to rebuild the years “the locust had eaten away,” the more her beautiful spirit begins to shine.
With Jenny’s increasing courage, we witness her increasing compassion and love for others around her in her daily walk in life.
There comes a time in this delightful novel, where Jenny begins to fully believe in the “magic” of the penny and begins herself to give them away. As she does, touching more people as her strength of spirit and faith increase, we too are able to see the “penny magic” returned to her in a touching way.
This little thing, “The Penny,” touching so many lives with its magic!
May you find the same magic, delight and joy in this novel, as I did in all its wonderful 243 pages!
Namaste’,
Che’
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The FAA has it RIGHT: "Souls on Board!"
In viewing a clip of ABC News’ report of the conversation between the Tower in St. Louis and the Midway Airlines pilot when Senator Barack Obama’s plane had a recent near emergency, I was amazed at the “language” used!
Yes, the FAA uses God’s Language!
That’s an outrage!
The FAA talks about “Souls on Board,” as in “How many souls do you have on board!?”
“51 souls.”
“Roger that!
When the tower controller heard Senator Obama was on board, he said nothing else but “Roger that!”
Diane Sawyer seemed amazed that the controller had said nothing more than ”Roger that.”
She said, “Imagine That!”
Imagine that indeed! A soul is a soul is a soul...to the controllers!
Imagine that!
The controllers think and talk in God's language about people in the air!
That is outrageous!
It’s outrageous because you and I don’t talk like that. We can’t talk like that!
If in the PR field, I were to tell reporters, “There are 10,000 ‘souls’ working for the company,” reporters would think I was crazy.
If in any way, you and I were to begin referring to the number of “souls” in any place, we would be considered crazy.
Can you imagine talking about the number of “souls” in your household, in your family!?
I’m laughing out loud at that one!
Just laughing out loud for the sheer JOY of it!
Because now...we have PERMISSION from the jurisdiction overseeing the “highest" and "freest" place over land, i.e. the air, to use the language. We have permission from the Federal Aviation Administration!
We can now use “souls” to describe people.
In the air, they know the TRUTH!
They know that if that plane had gone down, you wouldn’t be thinking about “bodies.”
You would be thinking of the “souls” that will now disappear from the earth.
Yes, you would know that we will be able to collect the bodies, but the “souls” are not ours to claim.
Only a "soul" in a body has any value as a “PERSON” you see.
Only a “soul” fully functioning in a body has TRUE worth.
The FAA knows this!
Why is it so hard for the average person, i.e. you and me, ...to get this...every day...every time!
Forget the stress level, I now want to become an air traffic controller where I can talk about the “souls” aboard all day long.
I want it so badly.
Imagine that!
Imagine all day long being able to talk and think about “people” as "souls," not as bodies.
I see why the air traffic controllers show up for work every day, despite the high level of stress I understand, and can imagine, is inherent in the job.
They show up every day...with passion...with full alertness...with JOY...Because they have “souls” to save!
It doesn't matter to the controllers whether it's President Bush's soul...or Senator Hillary Clinton's soul...or Senator Barack Obama's soul...or Senator John McCain's soul: a soul is a soul is a soul to the controllers, and the soul must be saved!
They can’t afford to make a mistake.
These air traffic controllers have to be precise...in every word they say...in every instruction they give.
They have got SOULS TO SAVE!
WOW!
Imagine beginning to think about the world like that.
Imagine the way your world... and my world... would change.
Imagine if...
Imagine if...
Imagine if...
Imagine if...we can begin to see people as “souls” every day, instead of “bodies.”
If we can only get past the exterior of the person, where one is not black, white, yellow or pink.
If we can get past the exterior of the personality, where one is not nice, sweet, mean or generous.
If we can get past the exterior...if we can only get past the exterior...to the soul!
Imagine HOW our world would change!
Most of us get so caught up in the things that really shouldn’t matter about a person.
We get caught up in their hair, the color of their eyes, their legs, their arms, their biceps' size, their cup size, their exterior...
We can’t see the TRUTH!
We can’t see that the color, the arms, the eyes, the beauty or lack thereof, as we perceive it, has NOTHING.... NO THING...to do with the “person” inside.
But when we can get into the soul, now we can begin to talk.
Is the SOUL “connected” to Spirit?
Or is it “Lost"?
You see the way I see it is this:
When the soul is connected to “Spirit,” life becomes an effortless passage.
Even obstacles become opportunity, because the ‘soul’ is able to discern the benign intention of “Spirit” for its (soul’s) own good while in the body!
But when that “soul” has lost connection to “Spirit,” it flounders around, looking here and there, everywhere, for itself. It blocks “Spirit” from shining through.
All we see of that "soul" then is its reflection in a body, sometimes so lost to its Power that its TRUTH cannot be discerned by the “naked” eye.
The FAA has taught us an important spiritual lesson:
When you really, really want to know the TRUTH about a person...
Look to the Soul!
Even if we don’t start talking the FAA’s language of “Number of Souls on Board”...we can begin thinking it!
To me, that honestly is one of the critical first steps in understanding the messages of Spirit!
Namaste’,
Che’
Yes, the FAA uses God’s Language!
That’s an outrage!
The FAA talks about “Souls on Board,” as in “How many souls do you have on board!?”
“51 souls.”
“Roger that!
When the tower controller heard Senator Obama was on board, he said nothing else but “Roger that!”
Diane Sawyer seemed amazed that the controller had said nothing more than ”Roger that.”
She said, “Imagine That!”
Imagine that indeed! A soul is a soul is a soul...to the controllers!
Imagine that!
The controllers think and talk in God's language about people in the air!
That is outrageous!
It’s outrageous because you and I don’t talk like that. We can’t talk like that!
If in the PR field, I were to tell reporters, “There are 10,000 ‘souls’ working for the company,” reporters would think I was crazy.
If in any way, you and I were to begin referring to the number of “souls” in any place, we would be considered crazy.
Can you imagine talking about the number of “souls” in your household, in your family!?
I’m laughing out loud at that one!
Just laughing out loud for the sheer JOY of it!
Because now...we have PERMISSION from the jurisdiction overseeing the “highest" and "freest" place over land, i.e. the air, to use the language. We have permission from the Federal Aviation Administration!
We can now use “souls” to describe people.
In the air, they know the TRUTH!
They know that if that plane had gone down, you wouldn’t be thinking about “bodies.”
You would be thinking of the “souls” that will now disappear from the earth.
Yes, you would know that we will be able to collect the bodies, but the “souls” are not ours to claim.
Only a "soul" in a body has any value as a “PERSON” you see.
Only a “soul” fully functioning in a body has TRUE worth.
The FAA knows this!
Why is it so hard for the average person, i.e. you and me, ...to get this...every day...every time!
Forget the stress level, I now want to become an air traffic controller where I can talk about the “souls” aboard all day long.
I want it so badly.
Imagine that!
Imagine all day long being able to talk and think about “people” as "souls," not as bodies.
I see why the air traffic controllers show up for work every day, despite the high level of stress I understand, and can imagine, is inherent in the job.
They show up every day...with passion...with full alertness...with JOY...Because they have “souls” to save!
It doesn't matter to the controllers whether it's President Bush's soul...or Senator Hillary Clinton's soul...or Senator Barack Obama's soul...or Senator John McCain's soul: a soul is a soul is a soul to the controllers, and the soul must be saved!
They can’t afford to make a mistake.
These air traffic controllers have to be precise...in every word they say...in every instruction they give.
They have got SOULS TO SAVE!
WOW!
Imagine beginning to think about the world like that.
Imagine the way your world... and my world... would change.
Imagine if...
Imagine if...
Imagine if...
Imagine if...we can begin to see people as “souls” every day, instead of “bodies.”
If we can only get past the exterior of the person, where one is not black, white, yellow or pink.
If we can get past the exterior of the personality, where one is not nice, sweet, mean or generous.
If we can get past the exterior...if we can only get past the exterior...to the soul!
Imagine HOW our world would change!
Most of us get so caught up in the things that really shouldn’t matter about a person.
We get caught up in their hair, the color of their eyes, their legs, their arms, their biceps' size, their cup size, their exterior...
We can’t see the TRUTH!
We can’t see that the color, the arms, the eyes, the beauty or lack thereof, as we perceive it, has NOTHING.... NO THING...to do with the “person” inside.
But when we can get into the soul, now we can begin to talk.
Is the SOUL “connected” to Spirit?
Or is it “Lost"?
You see the way I see it is this:
When the soul is connected to “Spirit,” life becomes an effortless passage.
Even obstacles become opportunity, because the ‘soul’ is able to discern the benign intention of “Spirit” for its (soul’s) own good while in the body!
But when that “soul” has lost connection to “Spirit,” it flounders around, looking here and there, everywhere, for itself. It blocks “Spirit” from shining through.
All we see of that "soul" then is its reflection in a body, sometimes so lost to its Power that its TRUTH cannot be discerned by the “naked” eye.
The FAA has taught us an important spiritual lesson:
When you really, really want to know the TRUTH about a person...
Look to the Soul!
Even if we don’t start talking the FAA’s language of “Number of Souls on Board”...we can begin thinking it!
To me, that honestly is one of the critical first steps in understanding the messages of Spirit!
Namaste’,
Che’
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The 2008 Summer Olympics: A Useful Guide for Us to Follow!
Staying connected to “ourselves” is perhaps the greatest challenge for many of us as we move along the spiritual path. It’s extremely difficult, yes, sometimes downright challenging. To stay connected to Spirit and to keep on believing when the rest of the world seems so oblivious to Presence, well, sometimes it does seem pointless. Added to this: we just have to look at ourselves, i.e. the outside, and we can see so much that is missing or lacking in perfection!
Day by day we’ve got to get up and start over, connecting to Spirit and trying to stay connected. It’s not an automatic connection. In order for the power to be realized, we need to stay plugged in. Sometimes, it’s downright discouraging. Sometimes, it takes more commitment...much more commitment...than we seem to have or the “stuff” of which we’re made.
This spiritual journey, we wonder, why bother? What’s the point of it all?
WAIT!
Before you get too carried away with my line of thinking, believing that, ”yes, she’s so-o right...I’m gonna chuck it in.”
Stop.
I need you to go and watch something now on television, NBC: The 2008 Summer Olympics!
As you do, suspend all judgment about anything. Just watch a few competitions... take a pause in between...and think about what you just saw on the television.
Yes. Physical Prowess!
It doesn’t matter what sport is currently under way in Bejing when you decide to watch, you’ll still see a phenomenon!
You’ll see strength, power, courage, determination, perseverance and true grit!
Now, go beyond this and think:
*What is making these athletes do what they do?
*What is the power behind them, allowing them to reach such heights in Sports?
*How can these athletes become so focused and determined?
On a local talk show recently, I saw Dominique Dawkes, an Olympic Gymnast in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Games. Dominique is now a poised 31 year old woman who is doing newscasting from the Bejing Olympics for Yahoo! On the talk show, she said that she learned three important things from her years in in Sports:
1. Believe in Yourself.
2. Use failure and/or setbacks to build strength for the future.
3. Reach the Power within you.
Seeing Dawes and the serenity she displayed about the new path of her life reinforced for me the TRUTH that I continue to reach for on a daily basis:
The Spirit within us is our greatest weapon against life’s odds. It is our greatest power!
It is our very being! It is our strength and our Peace.
It was Presence within Nancy Kerrigan that allowed her to continue to victory in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. In January of that year, companions of Tanya Harding, her chief rival at the Olympics tryouts, set out to eliminate Kerrigan from the Games by clubbing her in the knee. The tactic made Kerrigan unable to continue competing, thus allowing Harding to secure a place on the Olympic team. But the U.S. Olympic Committee allowed Kerrigan to continue onto the Olympics, and we learned some important lessons in strength.
Kerrigan taught us about believing in yourself when people would hate you...just because you’re you. We also learned how to never, ever doubt yourself and become discouraged... when people would choose to...disrespect , dishonor and disparage you.
Kerrigan rose to new heights in her skating after the attack. She was able to transcend the negatives, and she not only survived the knee injury, she thrived! She brought home the Silver medal in Skating for the U.S. in 1994.
Names of other Olympians remain with us through the years: the late Florence Griffith-Joyner (Flo Jo), Jackie Joyner Kersee, Evelyn Ashford, Mary Lou Retton, Mark Gastino, Bruce Jenner, Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Brian Boitano, Viktor Petrenko, Sergey Bubka, Brian Lewis, Kristi Yamaguchi, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci and Oksana Bauil.
We can remember all the stories written about these athletes, i.e. the ones that are written about them when they’ve made history, but also the ones they wrote themselves when they overcame their own personal challenges and made their way to center stage. Stories like Oksana Bauil’s, an orphan in the Ukraine, when she was saved from a life of destitution with her tremendous skating abilities. It’s the stories about the Spirit within them.
The lessons from these Olympic athletes should serve to teach us more than about the individual sports in which they excel and should have much greater meaning beyond the medals they bring home for the United States and other countries.
If we choose to look, we can see these athletes serve as useful models for a way of life those of us not in Sports can emulate. They model for us...
...the discipline and determination to keep getting back up when you fall down.
...getting back in the Game when you’ve felt such shame.
...not giving up when the going gets tough and the competition is on your heels.
...Keep on believing in yourself.
...Keep on reaching and moving and pulling out all the stuff that you’ve got.
Who could forget Kerri Strug,the gymnast, in 1996? It was her second trip to the Olympics, at age 18, when she made a name for herself! So determined was Strug to help her team win Olympic Gold that year, she sprinted on an injured foot, risking even more serious danger. The picture that will forever remain in our memory is when Strug lifted her injured left foot in the air, balanced herself fully on the right foot, obtaining a score of 9.71 to ensure the U.S. Gold!
Who can forget that moment of courage, determination and strength!
Every day serious athletes get up at the crack of dawn to begin practicing their sport. They often work through the day, into the night, to perfect their routines and to fine tune their performances.
Once an athlete gets recognized as being able to reach the Olympic track, the intensity of training becomes even harder. How do they find the will to keep on going and believing in their abilities when experiencing a period of total and absolute failure?
Is it just their coaches’ words and his or her expertise that help them reach perfection? Is it just a drive within them that you and I don’t have?
...Or it something else at work, enabling them to fully unleash the Power within them to do its work? Watch the athletes closely and see how they are moving through...gliding through...to victory. What you’ll see is that they seem to get out of their own way...and just follow the guidance coming to them and through them!
Athletes don’t have time like you and I to ponder or wonder whether they have “it” within them. They reach in and they grab hold of it...and they keep on moving forward.
There’s no debate...no thinking no...doubting.
They just do it!
Observe the following winning attributes in the Olympian athletes:
Individual Competitions--A strength and power emanating from within, even when they falter, helping them to continue on and make it through to victory.
A time that they absolutely cannot doubt themselves...but simply BELIEVE THEY CAN DO the task before them!
Team Sports—Reaching beyond our own needs and goals and working for the good of all.
There must be a coming together as ONE, i.e. ONENESS in Spirit, in order to experience victory!
Track and Field—Strategy for going the distance, even when the “opposition” is at your heels, trying to close in!
Today...tonight...tomorrow...and over the next two weeks, as the Olympics play themselves out in Bejing, watch the sports with new eyes. Despite the recent stories about athletes and their “habits,” there still is substance there.
Get past your disappointments of those athletes who may have fooled you and the world and try to see the “Spirit” within the various competitions.
And if you’re feeling off-track spiritually, don’t ponder your issue.
Just get out of your own way and let the guidance come from within!
Relax your mind. Open your heart.
If there is one particular athlete whose style touches you at this year’s games, take the “Spirit” of that athlete with you...even when the games are over.
That Spirit within your favorite athlete is the same one within you! Let that Spirit be your guide.
Like all the Olympic athletes know to be TRUTH, let it be your truth that you cannot do or be anything without the Power coming from within.
Namaste’,
Che’
Day by day we’ve got to get up and start over, connecting to Spirit and trying to stay connected. It’s not an automatic connection. In order for the power to be realized, we need to stay plugged in. Sometimes, it’s downright discouraging. Sometimes, it takes more commitment...much more commitment...than we seem to have or the “stuff” of which we’re made.
This spiritual journey, we wonder, why bother? What’s the point of it all?
WAIT!
Before you get too carried away with my line of thinking, believing that, ”yes, she’s so-o right...I’m gonna chuck it in.”
Stop.
I need you to go and watch something now on television, NBC: The 2008 Summer Olympics!
As you do, suspend all judgment about anything. Just watch a few competitions... take a pause in between...and think about what you just saw on the television.
Yes. Physical Prowess!
It doesn’t matter what sport is currently under way in Bejing when you decide to watch, you’ll still see a phenomenon!
You’ll see strength, power, courage, determination, perseverance and true grit!
Now, go beyond this and think:
*What is making these athletes do what they do?
*What is the power behind them, allowing them to reach such heights in Sports?
*How can these athletes become so focused and determined?
On a local talk show recently, I saw Dominique Dawkes, an Olympic Gymnast in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Games. Dominique is now a poised 31 year old woman who is doing newscasting from the Bejing Olympics for Yahoo! On the talk show, she said that she learned three important things from her years in in Sports:
1. Believe in Yourself.
2. Use failure and/or setbacks to build strength for the future.
3. Reach the Power within you.
Seeing Dawes and the serenity she displayed about the new path of her life reinforced for me the TRUTH that I continue to reach for on a daily basis:
The Spirit within us is our greatest weapon against life’s odds. It is our greatest power!
It is our very being! It is our strength and our Peace.
It was Presence within Nancy Kerrigan that allowed her to continue to victory in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. In January of that year, companions of Tanya Harding, her chief rival at the Olympics tryouts, set out to eliminate Kerrigan from the Games by clubbing her in the knee. The tactic made Kerrigan unable to continue competing, thus allowing Harding to secure a place on the Olympic team. But the U.S. Olympic Committee allowed Kerrigan to continue onto the Olympics, and we learned some important lessons in strength.
Kerrigan taught us about believing in yourself when people would hate you...just because you’re you. We also learned how to never, ever doubt yourself and become discouraged... when people would choose to...disrespect , dishonor and disparage you.
Kerrigan rose to new heights in her skating after the attack. She was able to transcend the negatives, and she not only survived the knee injury, she thrived! She brought home the Silver medal in Skating for the U.S. in 1994.
Names of other Olympians remain with us through the years: the late Florence Griffith-Joyner (Flo Jo), Jackie Joyner Kersee, Evelyn Ashford, Mary Lou Retton, Mark Gastino, Bruce Jenner, Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Brian Boitano, Viktor Petrenko, Sergey Bubka, Brian Lewis, Kristi Yamaguchi, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci and Oksana Bauil.
We can remember all the stories written about these athletes, i.e. the ones that are written about them when they’ve made history, but also the ones they wrote themselves when they overcame their own personal challenges and made their way to center stage. Stories like Oksana Bauil’s, an orphan in the Ukraine, when she was saved from a life of destitution with her tremendous skating abilities. It’s the stories about the Spirit within them.
The lessons from these Olympic athletes should serve to teach us more than about the individual sports in which they excel and should have much greater meaning beyond the medals they bring home for the United States and other countries.
If we choose to look, we can see these athletes serve as useful models for a way of life those of us not in Sports can emulate. They model for us...
...the discipline and determination to keep getting back up when you fall down.
...getting back in the Game when you’ve felt such shame.
...not giving up when the going gets tough and the competition is on your heels.
...Keep on believing in yourself.
...Keep on reaching and moving and pulling out all the stuff that you’ve got.
Who could forget Kerri Strug,the gymnast, in 1996? It was her second trip to the Olympics, at age 18, when she made a name for herself! So determined was Strug to help her team win Olympic Gold that year, she sprinted on an injured foot, risking even more serious danger. The picture that will forever remain in our memory is when Strug lifted her injured left foot in the air, balanced herself fully on the right foot, obtaining a score of 9.71 to ensure the U.S. Gold!
Who can forget that moment of courage, determination and strength!
Every day serious athletes get up at the crack of dawn to begin practicing their sport. They often work through the day, into the night, to perfect their routines and to fine tune their performances.
Once an athlete gets recognized as being able to reach the Olympic track, the intensity of training becomes even harder. How do they find the will to keep on going and believing in their abilities when experiencing a period of total and absolute failure?
Is it just their coaches’ words and his or her expertise that help them reach perfection? Is it just a drive within them that you and I don’t have?
...Or it something else at work, enabling them to fully unleash the Power within them to do its work? Watch the athletes closely and see how they are moving through...gliding through...to victory. What you’ll see is that they seem to get out of their own way...and just follow the guidance coming to them and through them!
Athletes don’t have time like you and I to ponder or wonder whether they have “it” within them. They reach in and they grab hold of it...and they keep on moving forward.
There’s no debate...no thinking no...doubting.
They just do it!
Observe the following winning attributes in the Olympian athletes:
Individual Competitions--A strength and power emanating from within, even when they falter, helping them to continue on and make it through to victory.
A time that they absolutely cannot doubt themselves...but simply BELIEVE THEY CAN DO the task before them!
Team Sports—Reaching beyond our own needs and goals and working for the good of all.
There must be a coming together as ONE, i.e. ONENESS in Spirit, in order to experience victory!
Track and Field—Strategy for going the distance, even when the “opposition” is at your heels, trying to close in!
Today...tonight...tomorrow...and over the next two weeks, as the Olympics play themselves out in Bejing, watch the sports with new eyes. Despite the recent stories about athletes and their “habits,” there still is substance there.
Get past your disappointments of those athletes who may have fooled you and the world and try to see the “Spirit” within the various competitions.
And if you’re feeling off-track spiritually, don’t ponder your issue.
Just get out of your own way and let the guidance come from within!
Relax your mind. Open your heart.
If there is one particular athlete whose style touches you at this year’s games, take the “Spirit” of that athlete with you...even when the games are over.
That Spirit within your favorite athlete is the same one within you! Let that Spirit be your guide.
Like all the Olympic athletes know to be TRUTH, let it be your truth that you cannot do or be anything without the Power coming from within.
Namaste’,
Che’
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A Peek Into the Fascinating World of Hinduism: No Simple Truth!
A Hindu Temple in North India
I was born and grew up in Guyana, a former British colony on the northeast coast of South America. Venezuela is on the West of this small country, (83,000 square miles), and Brazil’s on the South. I spent my formative years there, and the greatest memories I have of Guyana are those that celebrate the diversity of its people.
Guyana has people of all ethnic backgrounds, with the largest group, at nearly *44 percent, being East Indian. So, I grew up with a wide exposure to different foods, cultures and religions, though I did not fully appreciate these gifts at the time.
Dhankumarie Naraine was one of my Hindu friends from childhood. I remember now that she did not want to get as close as I did to my two best buddies, Mezaun Kayum or Mayharool Ali, who were both Muslims. There was no animosity between Dhankumarie and Mezaun or Mayharool. They just kept a polite distance while each embraced me as their good friend.
I wish I’d paid closer attention back then to the practices Dhankumarie followed as part of her religious upbringing as a Hindu. Sadly, we never shared too many thoughts on our different religions. I just know that at certain times, I’d eat certain special foods prepared by Dhankumarie’s families and at other times those prepared by Mezaun 's and Mayharool’s. Or, I might participate in one of many Hindu festivals held in Guyana. During the course of any year, there are many, many Hindu festivals of which Diwali, Holi and Durga Puja are just a few.
Having more knowledge about spiritual teachings and doing some research, I now know much more about Hinduism than I did back then. From what I've learned, I now view Hinduism as a truly empowering teaching and practice. For one thing, it teaches that we’re each manifestations of God, the ultimate reality, or Brahman. The teaching also makes us directly responsible for our life experience through a belief in Karma, i.e. good or bad deeds that follow us through other lifetimes.
Hinduism Today
Hinduism is the oldest religion in existence and with about a billion followers today, Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism differs from Christianity and other Western religions in that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization.
Prominent themes in Hinduism include: Dharma, ethics and duties; Samsara, rebirth; Karma, right action, and Moksha, liberation from the cycle of Samsara.
Hinduism also promotes truth, honesty, non-violence, celibacy, cleanliness, contentment, prayers, austerity, perseverance, penance, and pious company.
Teachings in Hinduism
The teachings of Hinduism are not simple. They are a conglomeration of religious, philosophical, and cultural ideas and practices that originated and evolved in India since 1500 BCE.
Often known as "the religion of 330 million gods," Hinduism teaches that each of us is a unique manifestation of God. The number “330 million” came from the belief that at one time there were 330 million living beings. Ultimately, though, Hinduism teaches that there is only ONE: Brahman.
Hinduism views the cosmic activity of the Supreme Being as having three tasks: creation, preservation and dissolution/recreation. Three deities, Brahma, Vishu and Shiva, represent these tasks, respectively.
These three deities together form the Hindu Trinity. But Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva should not be viewed as three independent deities. Instead, they are three different aspects of the Supreme, and the oneness of the three gods is brought out by the mystic symbol AUM where 'A' represents Vishnu, 'U' Shiva and 'M' Brahma.
Hindu Scripture and Teachings
Basic scriptures of Hinduism, collectively referred to as Shastras, essentially are a collection of spiritual laws discovered by different saints and sages at different points in its long history. Two types of sacred writings comprise the Hindu scriptures: Shrutim, that which is heard, and Smriti, that which is memorized. These writings were passed on from generation to generation orally for centuries before they were written down mostly in the Sanskrit language. The major and most popular Hindu texts include: the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The Bhagavad Gita is the New Testament of Hinduism. The Gita records a conversation between the warrior-prince Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, unveiled as an incarnation of the god Vishnu, in which personal devotion to deity is endorsed as a way of salvation for all classes of people.
This explains why in Hinduism there is a multiplicity of gods, numbering in hundreds. Hindus pray to these deities on a daily basis. There is a god in Hinduism to pray to for almost any human need or negative condition.
A woman makes a flower offering to Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Siva
Hinduism and Reincarnation
Reincarnation is a core belief in Hinduism. It is considered avidya, or ignorance, of one's true self that leads to ego-consciousness of the body. This grounds one in desire and the perpetual chain of karma and reincarnation.
According to Hinduism, the soul is immortal, while the body is subject to birth and death. The idea that the soul of any living being, including animals, humans and plants, reincarnates is intricately linked to karma, the sum of one's actions, and the force that determines one's next reincarnation. The cycle of death and rebirth, governed by karma, is referred to as samsara. To be trapped in samara is a result of ignorance of the true nature of being.
Hinduism teaches that the soul goes on repeatedly being born and dying. A person is born because he or she desires to be born to enjoy worldly pleasures. These only can be enjoyed through a body. Although Hinduism does not teach that all worldly pleasures are sinful, it teaches that they can never bring deep, lasting happiness or peace i.e. ānanda.
After many births, every person eventually becomes dissatisfied with the limited happiness that worldly pleasures can bring. At this point, a person begins to seek higher forms of happiness, which can be attained only through spiritual experience. When, after much spiritual practice, sādhanā, a person finally realizes his or her own divine nature, i.e. the true self is the immortal soul, rather than the body or the ego, all desires for the pleasures of the world vanish.
Salvation, or moksha, from rebirth is achieved through a realization of our identity with Brahman. This is achieved through deep meditation, often offered as a part of Yoga.
The Caste System
The belief that one’s karma determines one’s birth in the next life has supported the caste system in India. Although the caste system was abolished in 1949, it remains a practice in the rural parts of India even today. People were born into four Varnas, or social castes, in the following order of rank: Brahmins, priests or academics; Kshatriyas, rulers, nobles or warriors; Vaishyas, farmers, landlords and merchants; Sudras, peasants, servants and workers in non-polluting jobs. There is evidence in various texts that Brahminhood is attained by learning vs. birth.
The Dalits, considered outcasts, were not even considered to be part of the caste system. Until the late 1980's they were called Harijan, children of God. They worked in what are considered polluting jobs and were considered "untouchable" by the four castes. In some areas of India, even a contact with their shadow by a member of the Varnas, was considered polluting.
Over the years, many Dalits converted to Buddhism, Christianity and other religions in order to escape the caste system. As a matter of fact, on November 4, 2001, one million low-caste Dalits were scheduled to meet in Delhi, India, for a mass conversion to Buddhism.
An Untouchable Woman, India, 2003
This conversion has generated massive anger and even instances of violence and murder directed at proselytizing religions by some Hindus.
Yoga Practices
Followers of the Advaita Vedanta school, often associated with jnana yoga, believe that they will spend eternity absorbed in the perfect peace and happiness that comes with the realization that all existence is One, Brahman, and that the immortal soul is part of that existence. Thus they will no longer identify themselves as individual persons, but will see the "self" as a part of the infinite ocean of divinity, described as sat-chit-ananda i.e.existence-knowledge-bliss.
Followers of full or partial Dvaita schools i.e. dualistic schools, such as bhakti yoga, on the other hand, perform their worship with the goal of spending eternity in a loka, spiritual world or heaven, in the blessed company of the Supreme being, i.e Krishna or Vishnu for the Vaishnavas, Shiva for the Shaivites.
A follower of one school may believe that both types of salvation are possible, but will simply have a personal preference to experience one or the other. Sometimes you may hear that "followers of Dvaita wish to 'taste sugar,' while the followers of Advaita wish to 'become sugar.'"
Who is a Hindu?
A Hindu is an individual who accepts and lives by the religious guidance of the Vedic scriptures. While the teachings of the Hindu tradition do not require that you have a religious affiliation to Hinduism in order to receive its inner teachings, it can be very helpful to formally become a Hindu because it provides a formal connection to the tradition.
In India, Nepal, and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Hinduism is the dominant religion, with the number put at 905 million for those practicing the religion there.
Statistics put the number of Hindus in the U.S. at about 1.1 million Hindus and the number in Canada at about 157,000.
Other countries with large Hindu populations include: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.
In the U.S. alone, there are an approximated 200 Hindu temples or Hindu centers.
Sri Mariamman Temple, India
The practice of Hinduism
On a daily basis, the vast majority of Hindus engage in religious rituals.
Shrines are created in the home with icons dedicated to their chosen god.
Temples are usually dedicated to a primary deity along with associated subordinate deities though some commemorate multiple deities. Visiting temples is not obligatory, and many Hindus visit temples only during religious festivals.
Hindus perform their worship through icons, murtis. The icon serves as a tangible link between the worshiper and God. The image is often considered a manifestation of God, since God "dwells within." The Padma Purana states that the mūrti is not to be thought of as mere stone or wood but as a manifest form of the Divinity. A few Hindu sects, such as the Ārya Samāj, do not believe in worshipping God through icons.
Devout Hindus perform daily rituals, such as worshipping at the dawn after bathing, usually at a family shrine. This also typically includes lighting a lamp and offering foods before the images of deities, recitation from religious scripts, singing devotional hymns, meditation, chanting mantras, reciting scriptures and other types of practices. A notable feature in religious ritual is the division between purity and pollution.
Hindu woman performing a ritual
To overcome impurity or have it neutralized, purification, usually with water, is a typical ritual done by most Hindus. To accumulate merit points and reduce sufferings in the next world, there also is a strong belief in sacrifice and through performance of charity or good works.
Vedic rites of fire-oblation,yajna, are now only occasional practices, although they are highly revered in theory. In Hindu wedding and burial ceremonies, the yajña and chanting of Vedic mantras are still done. Rituals, upacharas, change with time. For instance, sacred dance and music offerings were replaced by the offerings of rice and sweets.
Occasions like birth, marriage, and death involve elaborate religious customs. In Hinduism, life-cycle rituals include Annaprashan,a baby's first intake of solid food, Upanayanam ,"sacred thread ceremony" undertaken by upper-caste children at their initiation into formal education, and Shraadh, ritual of treating people to feasts in the name of the deceased.
Other practices:
*Parents, in consultation with astrologers, decide the betrothal of the young couple and the exact date and time of the wedding.
* Cremation is the normal practice for disposing of the dead, except in children under five years old. Cremation is performed by wrapping the corpse in a cloth and burning it on a pyre.
Symbolism and Mantras in Hinduism
Hinduism has a developed system of symbolism and iconography to represent the sacred in art, architecture, literature and worship. These symbols gain their meaning from scriptures, mythology, or cultural traditions. The syllable Om, representing Parabrahman, and the Swastika sign, representing auspiciousness, are now widely regarded as symbols of Hinduism itself.
Other markings, such as tilaka, identify a follower of the faith. Hinduism associates many symbols, such as the lotus, chakra and veena, with particular deities.
Mantras are invocations, praise and prayers that through their meaning, sound, and chanting style help a devotee focus the mind on holy thoughts or express devotion to God and the deities. Many devotees perform morning ablutions at the bank of a sacred river while chanting the Gayatri Mantra or Mahamrityunjaya mantras. The epic Mahabharata extols Japa, ritualistic chanting, as the greatest duty in the Kali Yuga i.e.current age. Many adopt Japa as their primary spiritual practice.
The impact of Hinduism
The impact of Hinduism is being felt throughout the U.S. and other places in the world. Much of New Age thinking comes directly from Hinduism. Many religious experts seem to believe that because of its eclectic nature, Hinduism has the potential to serve as a major vehicle for uniting much of the non-Christian religious world. Hinduism also has large appeal to many who are disillusioned with strictly material pursuits.
As for me:
If I ever meet Dhankumarie Naraine, my childhood friend, my first question to her would be whether she knew her own innate power when we were growing up. I also would ask her next why she did not share this powerful and empowering message with me then!
Namaste’,
Che’
NOTE: In September, we’ll take a look at the Islam religion. For more on Hinduism, go to: http://fremonttemple.org
*These numbers are according to 2002 Census. Older censuses put the number of East Indians in Guyana at much higher numbers.
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Wholeness for EveryDay
Personal Authenticity: "To Thine Own Self Be True"...
"To Thine Own Self Be True and it must follow as the night, the day, Thou canst not then be false to ANY man."
William Shakespeare.
William Shakespeare.