Just reminder

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Glerikud

Posted in Glances | Leave a comment

Means of Life (10)

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Michaela

There comes a time you leave it to the master…

I happened to come across a lecture from Carolyne Myss today and she is putting it all together, much better and much more profoundly than I can ever dream of doing it. This is how to work with the three fundamental fears in our life – poverty, loneliness and humiliation. And make no mistake – those fears are deeply engrained in all of us. They are the reason for stagnation, unhappiness and being unable to move forward.

Rarely have I listened to a more profound teaching regarding the dragons in our life, that just make us want to run away – if we realise it or not.

Enjoy and let me know what you think

Carolyne Myss: The Three Fears

Posted in Means of Life, Teacher & Teachings | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Peaceful Warrior quote

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Glerikud

“Nearly all of humanity shares this: If you don’t get what you want, you suffer. Then even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer, because you can’t hold on to it forever.”

Posted in Quotes & Mantras | 3 Comments

Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is Form

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Michaela

The phrase “form is emptiness; emptiness is form” is perhaps the most celebrated paradox associated with Buddhist philosophy. It is the supreme mantra. The expression originates from the Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra, commonly known as the Heart Sutra, which contains the philosophical essence of about six hundred scrolls making up the Maha Prajna Paramita. The Heart Sutra is the shortest text in this collection. It belongs to the oldest Mahayana texts and presumably originated in India around the time of Jesus Christ.

According to Buddhist scholars, the dialogue between Avalokiteshvara and Sariputra is inspired by the Buddha. This is to say it occurs spontaneously without the speaker’s intention. The content of the conversation is determined entirely by the power of the Buddha’s concentration. The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara represents the idea of perfect universal wisdom, while Sariputra is regarded as one of the Buddha’s closest and brightest disciples. The dialogue takes place at the Vulture Peak near the ancient city of Rajgaya where the Buddha and his community of monks stayed. Sariputra requests Avalokiteshvara to instruct him on the practice of the perfection of wisdom, which means prajnaparamita in Sanskrit.

Scripture belong to all of us, they are our spiritual heritage and in particular the Heart Sutra of the Mahayana Buddhism is very popular for it’s brevity and depth of wisdom. The following is the Heart Sutra in full, as well a teaching by the Dalai Lama about the meaning of this most profound teaching. I am encouraging everybody to read it and to reflect on the perennial wisdom of the Heart Sutra. If we call it formless, emptiness or the absolute, consciousness or God – it always points to the same Truth.

Continue reading →

Posted in Teacher & Teachings | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Oh come and go

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Michaela

Oh come and go. You, almost a child still, complete
for a moment the dance-move
into the pure constellation of those dances
in which dull orderly nature’s

transiently overcome. Since she was stirred
to total hearing only when Orpheus sang.
You were still moved by those things
and easily surprised if any tree took time

to follow after you into the listening.
You still knew the place where the lyre
lifted, sounding – the un-heard centre.

For it you tried out your lovely steps,
and hoped one day to turn your friend’s face
and course towards healing celebration.

R.M. Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus II/28

 

Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Poetry, Rilke's Reality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Means of Life (9)

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Michaela

“Means of Life” is an inter-disciplinary approach to explore how everything is related  and to pin-point the differences between what we need and what we want.

Hunger

We are in the middle of an enormous global food crisis – the second in three years. World food prices hit a record in January, driven by huge increases in the prices of wheat, corn, sugar and oil. Now there has been a warning that a severe drought was threatening the wheat crop in China, the world’s largest wheat producer, and resulting in shortages of drinking water for people and livestock. This situation, the drought, the shortage and the soaring prices have an immense  impact on the global economy, but they have a disastrous impact on the world’s poor.

China is the world’s largest crops producer and largely self-sufficient in food production, so the recent drought will force  China to import large quantities of food in response to the drought and that could drive international prices even higher than the record levels recently reached.

Continue reading →

Posted in Means of Life, The world we live in Now | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Redemption Song | Playing For Change

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Glerikud

Oh, almost forgot: You can pre-order their next album (Songs around the world Part 2) here: http://amzn.to/PFCsatw2

Posted in Music & Movies | Leave a comment

Old world, or New Earth

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Michaela

So what do you think…?

There is some indication of New Earth thinking, isn’t it ? An athlete ( well, time does matter in the instance of ski racing), determination, talent,overcoming obstacles with tenacity, precision, accuracy…nothing wrong with it, or is there. A new definition of time, if you will…but what about a new definition for achiever ?

Well, that’s the question…

 

Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged | 4 Comments

Songs of Unknowingness

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Michaela

Come down among us, be one of us lovers,
So that we may open up to you
the gate to the garden of love.

Come reside in our own house like a shadow,
for we are neighbors to the Sun

Although like the soul we are invisible in the world;

although like the love of lovers we are without a sign,
yet every sign of ours
can be traced back to You,
for just the Soul we are both hidden and manifest.

Whatever you think us to be,
look further up; we are above that.

You are water, but in a whirlpool and engulfed;
come down among us, since we are outpouring torrents.

Inasmuch as we have staked our all in pure poverty,
we know nothing except singing
these songs of unknowingness.

Divani Shamsi Tabrizi 1536
From: Rumi: “Love’s Ripening
Translated by K. Helminski & A. Rezwami
Posted in All things Rumi | Leave a comment

We tried to do something

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Michaela

“We got a message from Tunis,” Hosam Khalaf, a 50-year-old engineer stopped me to say. “And the message was: Don’t burn yourself up; burn up the fear that is inside you. That is what happened here. This was a society in fear, and the fear has been burned.” Khalaf added that he came here with his wife and daughter for one reason: “When we meet God, we will at least be able to say: ‘We tried to do something.’ ”

Thomas L. Friedman: “Speaker’s Corner on The Nile”

Photos from the protests in Cairo

Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged | 5 Comments