An Apology on a Wednesday...

AN APOLOGY TO READERS YET AGAIN!

Oh dear! We’ve not done as we planned or promised last week and that cannot be a good thing or a reader’s treat! We’ve not blogged on Tumultuous Thursdays about dreams and dreaming nor made fun of them on Funtastic Fridays...to be honest we really don’t know what to say…

But we aren’t almost even here this week too…the muse the muse always blame the muse…the Purple Elephant and the Little Mouse they are firmly planted though-Thank you! But the muse he is actually flashing right now as I speak or type! Not flashing as going naked after all he is a manicou so already au naturel so no…no…I mean he seems to be here for a second and then disappears another but he slips back and forth from here to not here so quickly that he almost appears to be going on and off like a blinking light! Oh dear!…I’m told it happens when you travel too often and in close succession across parallel worlds…there comes a time when you are neither here nor there or anywhere…oh dear! Unless perhaps you’re everywhere!

Luckily as of this morning… the Little mouse came to my door…he was perched on the shoulder of the Purple Elephant so he could reach up to the level of my ears so I could hear him. “Aaaaww!” was my first cry when he incredibly bashfully bestowed onto me a bouquet made of four purple flowers and three sunflowers with sprigs of this twig or the other all wrapped together in a bow and said,

“Miss Dubay this will make him stay for sure!”

then the Purple Elephant trumpeted unfortunately waking the whole house up! You see we have guests, not as many as last Christmas but quite a few monkeys are with us but they luckily weren’t in bad spirits and instead decided to have an early breakfast scratching their heads while they peeled their bananas as they also tried to solve the problem of my manicou muse for me! Mouse, elephant and monkeys all poured over the ‘Book of Words and Light’ where they read of the use of purple flowers, sunflowers but more so that the use of love and light and yep UCP-Universal Collective Prayer could help me! So we followed the book and then ‘poof’ and as I looked up from where I knelt with sunflower pollens glistening from my cheeks…there it unfolded before me…and Lo and Behold there was my muse again fully formed standing all solid, not blinking, safe and sound before me!

You see in all seriousness and reality I recalled that all my words and speech come from the Divine Mother upon whom I ought to surrender! It’s not like I’ve not done so time and time again in the past as I’ve often shared on UCP but of lately I think I needed to be reminded…reminded that she is the speech…in the form of the Vedic Goddess Saraswati she rides a swan and is the ‘vac’ which translated from the Sanskrit means the speech, the word…the spoken word…the voice… However she is also the Goddess of learning and so really one cannot have even any writing without her since when we type it comes forth from an inner voice…so I had lost my voice both inner and outer…but me and all the animals sat in UCP and surrendered onto the Divine Mother in the form of Saraswati who according to this lovely Vedic prayer sits in the middle of our palms…she was always there… if we only had looked to see! …with the Goddess Lakshmi at our finger tips and Govinda at the base of the palms...



So too in the words of Don Henley in the movie Michael…it came through our hands!

Don Henley - Through Your Hands Lyrics
"You were dreamin'
On a park bench
'bout a broad highway somewhere
When the music from the carillon
Seemed to hurl your heart out there
Past the scientific darkness
Past the fireflies that float
To an angel bending down
To wrap you in his warmest coat

And you ask
What am I not doing
He says
Your voice cannot command
In time you will move mountains
And it will come through your hands

Still you argue for an option
Still you angle for your case
Like you wouldn't know a burning bush
If it blew up in your face
Yeah, we scheme about the future
And we dream about the past
When just a simple reaching out
Might build a bridge that lasts

And you ask
What am I not doing
He says
Your voice cannot command
In time you will move mountains
And it will come through your hands
Through your hands

So whatever your hands find to do
You must do with all your heart
There are thoughts enough
To blow men's minds
And tear great worlds apart
There's a healing touch to find you
On that broad highway somewhere
To lift you high
As music flyin'
Through the angel's hair

Don't ask what you are not doing
Because your voice cannot command
In time we will move mountains
And it will come through your hands"

So I post to you really today on a Wednesday but I will back track the blog post I’m about to do on Meady’s Musings and it will read as a Maniac Mondays post to keep with the format of the blog. While on UCP, I will be publishing as of today. So now I am all good thanks to the Goddess Saraswati and will continue my dreams and dreaming series on Meady’s Musings and today on UCP will launch that God series! Shiv it is as we launch that series! And on Meady’s Musings get those pillows out…it’s dream time! (Of course this post will appear as if it was done the Monday before)

Advent Calendar: Mon 7 Dec 09- The Gift of Friendship

Today on the Advent calendar we will be celebrating the gift of Friendship! The same blog post on all three blogs today since like the Ghost of Christmases Past, Present and Future I believe on this particular posting all three of my blogs swirl into ONE!

I was inspired to give this gift here on the calendar because I’ve been touched by many great acts of friendship in the blogosphere this year. And I count myself lucky enough to have been on the receiving end so many a time! To be honest I’ve been giving too but to recall the cliché here… “Self praise is no praise”. So I won’t be recalling what I’ve done but what has been done for me! But of course all great friendships aren’t about keeping score anyway. All the same I have to single out some people who have been making my blog posts all the more decorative or more inspirational all year long! And also my followers (I don’t have the application up and I don’t keep score) but I know I have a handful of people. Those who if not always at least from time to time read my posts and even comment if not on the actual blogs, perhaps on Intent where I re-post or on Facebook where I might even get a thumbs up!

But first a drum roll please for these two who have contributed directly to the creativity and or spirituality of this blog this year! Ladies and Gentlemen…Elephants and Mice! :
A big round of applause for…ADRIANA OCHOA and Brother/Deacon GREG KIRK!

Adriana is the seamstress…Oh yes! Oh yes! She is the one who has clothed my animals if you didn’t notice they now have their Santa hats…we decided to let the animals remain more au naturel after all we are not trying to be the new Disney here! And the amount of cloth it was taking to cover the Purple Elephant we decided to use some for other draping which you will see about the sites and then give the rest of the cloth to that wonderful man from India the calendar celebrated last year when we learnt about him from the Global Oneness Project …you can reminded of his lovely work here! (NOTE: This donation is only in spirit for now but if I or you are ever in India or have a way to get cloth to this lovely drive…I would do so in the material world and perhaps you should consider doing so too…)

But back to the seamstress…she is more than that…she is the one who based on my ideas for these blogs and Meady’s Musings Production breathed new life into my old Meady’s Musings Production logo and also designed my UCP-Universal Collective Prayer banner. And yes all free of charge only paid for in friendship. This given that she is a professional at her job as you can perhaps see from the great work she does displayed here. She also did the poster for my Holi blog earlier this year. If you need to reach her to create something for you email us admin@meadysmusings.com

So in a sense she is the co-mother of the Purple Elephant and his little mouse friend. Although again the Purple Elephant and the little mouse well really they have a long line of ancestral friendship you know…you can check out this story to understand a bit more about their bond…but they have also daily been working together on their personal bond…and let this be said they would lay their lives down for each other as well as either one of their mothers! :


Now speaking of cloth we come to a man of the cloth…my brother in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer…Deacon Greg Kirk! Sometimes when I speak of him or communicate with him tears comes to my eyes…and I’m not ashamed to say this…after all we are both UCPers and so unashamedly surrender onto the divine in all! However I was so excited to work on this Advent calendar with both him and my soul sister Adriana that I was in excitement and Universe inspired tears daily! If you thought the Purple Elephant was excited well you can’t imagine how it was for his mother!
So over this weekend as both animals got their clothes and thanked the seamstress and the prayers by Bro Greg had already been said…I really felt moved to sing this song of friendship…when my nieces and nephew (as we listened to it) explained to me about it…it is from the 2009 Hindi film New York…Hai Junoon! The Youtube vid comes with translations and I hope you enjoy it!

I also dedicate it to all my friends from Intent…many of whom are now part of my experimental virtual book writing café on Facebook-The Deliciously Divine Café. Also some other friends who avidly read me like Maria and Neerupa and just all my other friends who have been there for me always even if they hate to read or won’t read my blog! And for those who come and read here and in your own way forge a bond with me by reading my words, thoughts and of my deeds without making our bond known…and others who for several reasons won’t be mentioned here but are dear to the Mother of the Purple Elephant’s heart.

OK so now I’m sounding like if I’m getting an Academy Award or something…(do I need to put the little copyright symbol when I write that?) LOL! But really I should also name some others dear to me…I know how it goes you name some and leave out others and then….TROUBLE even if your readership is not that large at all! But you know I love you all…after all one of these here blogs is UCP-Universal Collective Prayer so it encompasses the one in the all and the all in the one! But before I cue Hai Junoon! I must bow and then shout out too to some other marvelous Intenters and Deliciously Divine Café goers…

Ruch- You always seem like a partner in crime…perhaps we might be the real life purple elephant and mouse!

Grandpa Ed- Enough said…I mean you are my new Grandpa now since all my blood related grandparents are out of the material plane. Your wit and metaphysical talks…your walks in the English countryside…I hope you one day meet Winnie the Pooh!

Noreen- Your Irish accent so breath taking…you are a quiet listener…always the supporter…a deliciously divine tea drinker indeed!

Garima and Shweta- Like new found sisters…

Tim- The ever present and eternal supporter…thumbs up to you too my friend!

So many more…Yogi Rajesh, Vashi, Brother Dom, Mr. Phillip Zeuner, Danes and Raj Aurora. Glad to make your acquaintance Sirs!

Elspeth- not an Intenter nor in the virtual café but we have exchanged many a thought and gift and I’m delighted that in this international mix of Delicious Divinity there is at least one other Trini face! Of course I’m sure there are more to be found…but for sure you would have been one of those faces that made me see that also a Trini can blog like this you see! And thank you for the Freedom speech at the local candle4tibet event last year which as you will know was one of the events that led to the creation of the blog UCP!

And My Fairy Godmother was Sara now Kara we all so miss you!

And just like those Academy Award winning speeches I’m sure I’ve left out many…and of course as I said there are some that I’ve not mentioned here on purpose but the connection and thankfulness is understood…after all just like the three ghosts swirl into one…sometimes when one is so close they are not distinct from you when giving praise as to give praise to them would be the same as that tricky self praise business…so I’m sure you guys know who you are! ;)

Luckily unlike the Academy Awards I can cue my music whenever I like but let me cue it now…Ladies, Gentlemen, Elephants and Mice…Beings on the Material plane and those in the Spirit world too…here it is my Friendship song to you…Hai Junoon!

Advent Calendar: 4 Dec 09-The Gift that are Elephants!

Copyright Meady's Musings Production

Today on the Advent calendar we will be celebrating (yes, you got that right)…elephants! Of course my purple elephant has been calling up his elephant friends world wide to come read the story on The Purple Elephant’s Advent calendar here so the elephant world is all abuzz! You see my purple elephant is a dear friend and a few lunches ago earlier this week I was aghast to hear someone say that at some resort they had elephant meat!

I felt a big blow in the stomach for my purple elephant …I have to tell you….I explained about how elephants have feelings…they are very sentient beings (I mean just look at my purple elephant if you don’t believe me) and I had read once in National Geographic that they have funeral rites and rituals and stuff and scientist believe they mourn and grieve for their dead. The individual more went on about how elephants are attacking! Well of course they are wouldn’t you defend your home and family if people came to kill you!? My purple elephant has had many a pink, green and grey elephant cousin killed!

Why if it’s OK to eat elephants well what’s the biggy with eating people too…I mean elephants are really sensitive creatures…I was pretty irritated that the individual then went on to claim elephants have small brains compared to their size when well they had no scientific evidence to back it up…in fact I understand elephants are quite smart...but apart from my personal relationship with my lovely purple elephant here are some scientific facts out there…

Read what Marc Bekoff, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado in Boulder has to say in his commentary Do Elephants Cry? By clicking on this link here.

Now I know this is an Advent calendar and my objective of it is to bring fun, comfort and joy. So I’m not going to go on about the gory details of the pain that my purple elephant and his relatives can be subjected to…instead I’m going to celebrate the purple elephant and his kind…it is what the purple elephant wants too…he really just wants to live in peace and harmony with other beings in the universe…and for his family it’s Christmas time too…so here is how we are going to celebrate the Purple Elephant and Elephants at large and their gifts today on the Advent Calendar.

- Meady’s Musings-Some scientific facts that show the loveliness of the nature of the elephant…their ability to show love and compassion for each other and even for species other than their own!
- UCP-Elephants have long been revered in Hinduism and Buddhism…and we will explore that…
- Books and Films Corner-Many movies and books have been made about elephants we will talk about one of my favourite elephantine characters!

CELEBRATION OF THE ELEPHANT IN ASIAN RELIGIONS AND CULTURES

By now it is well known on UCP how I feel about my ishq devata Ganapati. He is of course very elephantine in nature. However here are some other interesting facts about the celebration of the elephant in Asian Religions and Cultures as described on Wikipedia:

The following elephants or elephant-like figures occur in mythology and religion.
• Ganesh, an elephant-headed Hindu deity
• Airavata, an elephant ridden by the Hindu god Indra.
• Erawan, the Thai version of Airavata.

Gaja (a Sanskrit word for elephant) is one of the significant animals finding references in Hindu scriptures and Buddhist and Jain texts. In general, a gaja personifies a number of positive attributes including abundance, fertility and richness; boldness and strength; and wisdom and royalty.

In the context of the history of Ancient India, the earliest depiction of gaja is found on the seals discovered at sites (like Harappa and Mohenjo Daro) of the Indus Valley Civilization (3000 BC – 1700 BC). Some scholars believe that by that time elephants had been tamed and domesticated, and used for peaceful and possibly for other purposes. In the Vedas, there is no direct reference to elephants. Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya reports use of war elephants during warfare.

Over a period of time encompassing several centuries, elephants became an important part of Indian life and society, particularly of religious tradition, the royalty, and the aristocratic segment of the society. Capturing, taming and training of elephants developed into a specialized skill. In Ancient India, a number of treatises were written about caring and management of elephants, which included the following:
• Palakapya’s Hastayurvea dealing with the management of good health of elephants.
• Matangalila by Nilakantha
The legend states that Airavata, the first elephant, emerged from the churning of the ocean. There is another mythological account, which states that Brahma created elephants.

The Buddhist tradition states that Buddha came into the womb of his mother in the form of an elephant having six tusks. According to Jaina tradition, each of the mother of the twenty-four thirthankars dreamt of fourteen auspicious objects, which included an elephant. In Hinduism, Ganesh, a god with the elephant’s head has been an object of reverence and worship for more than two millennia. He is therefore called as Gajanan(Gaj=elephant, aanan= faced). Several deities and mythological figures have elephants as their conveyance (vahan) including Balarama, Skanda and aiyanar.

An elephant is also one of several attributes of a Chakravartin, which he is expected to own to be bestowed with the title of Chakravatin, that is, the supreme and universal ruler.