UCP: Hanuman Jayanti and Good Friday 2012!

Today Friday 6 April 2012 is an instance of the Hindu and Christian calendars colliding as both Hanuman Jayanti and Good Friday (part of the Easter Holiday week) falls on this day. So we here at UCP thought we'd come out our blogging hibernation and attempt to discuss well the UCP aspects of it...

Now according to Hindu traditions today Hanuman Jayanti is the day Hanuman was born on earth (or I guess incarnated) and this day is the full moon (Purnima) day in the Lunar Hindu calendar month of Chaitra (March & April). So this year the Hindu month of Chaitra falls in the Gregorian month of April and also coincides with the Christian marking of Good Friday.

According to the Christian traditions and history which seems to be well documented on this site here. Jesus is tried on Good Friday and finally dies on the cross (later to resurrect) at approximately 3PM on the Good Friday.

Although the two settings are very different...the similarity we here at UCP can see is that in both traditions Hindu and Christian...God is seen to want to help mankind...in the case of the Christian point of view Jesus as a result died on the cross for the sins of man and said to God- "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" he then according to the movie the "The Passion of Christ" at least says "Father into your hands...I commend...my spirit" Here is the Youtube clip where someone from the Youtube community edited the film to show the last things Jesus said while being crucified. It is always painful for us here at UCP to watch! :(



In the case of Hanuman he agreed to stay on earth until the end of Kalyug at the behest of Vishnu for according to Vishnu during Kalyug which is the current age mankind is in...man need only call the name of the Lord and he will attain salvation. At least again this is what the guys at the UCP desk gathered from this Yotube clip that is taken from the closing episode of the late eighties adaptation of the Ramayan epic by Ramanand Sagar. See the times 1:53 to 2:49 mins in the clip so see what we mean.



So two very different cultures and scenarios...but the similarity we see is that Shri Hanuman like Jesus Christ are both there to assist man in his ascent to the Great one? No offense here meant to any particular religion as this is just UCP's attempt to discuss and analyze possible similarities that we suspect exist but appreciate that not everyone would see or agree.

And is never a secret here at UCP that the guys that make up the UCP desk are more Hinducentric in their views...it's where the majority of the guys' journeys into UCP started and it is the religious tradition they are most comfortable with so as a result when put to a vote they decided that we shall chant the Hanuman chalisa as we ask Hanuman Baba for his assistance while here on planet earth!

We're Back on a Krishna Janmashtami Again-Happy Krishna Janmashtami 2011!!

Copyright the Meady's Musings Production House.

We started this dance we call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer back in 2008 on Krishna Janmashtami so as we always say Krishna Janmashtami to Krishna Janmashtami we have completed another year of this blog...granted we've been away for most of the year thus far...but we've been taking the blog on the road...and we will let you know more about that soon! But for now we want to say that Krishna Janmashtami to Krishna Janmashtami this blog is now three years old! :)

So as we reflect today on the manifestation of Krishna into the flesh in the Hindu world and the fast of Ramadan continues in the Islamic world...we find fresh energy to announce on our birthday that we share with Krishna himself that we will finally be back to blogging consistently here on the prayers...and getting to the God series as we had promised back on the road in June. So look for it this Wednesday as we start back blogging with the expectation of one or two installations here on UCP every week either on a Wednesday, Friday or on both days. But now on with the birthday celebs...!

To mark our birthday and that of the supreme Godhead of Hinduism-Krishna. We will do two things:

-Reminesce, reflect and re-examine the reason we started this blog and
-Recall some of our favourite Krishna tunes!

Why we started UCP?
We thought this would take a long time to explain and lots of soul searching before we could type this response here. But really a blog is a web log...a diary of sorts in cyberspace...and so the answer really was right there embedded in our first UCP blog ever...when we used to write in the first person...here it is:

"So I go into this evening's proceedings (as it thunders and rains here very much as it did according to the Vedic tale on the day that Baby Krishna came to earth) with this in my heart... this in my prayers. No matter who we are where our ancestors came from or how we choose to worship... Let us all show each other love and compassion. I truly believe this and so this is my truth that if we all focus on this and practice this piece by piece and as we get better at it...the truth will prevail...and we will all of a sudden realise that LOVE IS ALL THERE IS! (and I think I may have just quoted a Beatles song there...no rights infringement intended) Please reflect on my loaner pic from the Bhaktivedanta people and look at the love and beauty in it. A mother lovingly bathing her baby. Don't bother too much bout who was right and who was wrong who came first or who came last. Who was better and who was best or who is right now or wrong now. May God Bless Us All and fill Us with Love and Compassion to All Beings of the Universe!"

And now some of our favourite Krishna tunes:

A UNIVERSAL COLLECTIVE PRAYER! As UCP joins in Paulo Coelho's collective prayer event.

Here's what I the head of the production house prayed for this afternoon at 6 PM in my time zone as we here at UCP joined in with Paulo Coelho's collective prayer event! :)


A UNIVERSAL COLLECTIVE PRAYER!

I pray to you my beloved guru and current ishq devata Baba Shiv!

I pray that you give me the strength to fulfil what I can on earth to do and to provide me with the supporters and necessary support I need to fulfil it. May I also be able to return this support if needed to my supporters and have the grace and wisdom to thank them with heartfelt gratitude when the time is right for the support they lend to me. And I pray in thanks to Paulo Coelho and other leaders and earthly gurus like him who inspire such UCP-Universal Collective Prayer events.

I pray for my nation-Trinidad and Tobago that is filled with a diversity of peoples much like the whole world is today but in our case the diversity exists in a very small space and pool of people. I pray that they learn to respect each other’s points of view that are a product of their conditioning from birth based on their varied cultures, religions and races and always see from a place of love, light and compassion despite their differences. I pray for the strength to continue to pray for this and to myself always see from a place of love, light and compassion!

I pray for Japan...I don't think I need to explain that one!

I pray for Anna Hazare whom I've never heard of before today but having learnt of his personal struggles...I find them incredibly admirable and he seems to be a man who is living out his morals and values walking the walk not just talking the talk...he reminds me of Gandhi...and I pray that he has success in his struggle as he helps to make the land of my ancestors a better place.

I pray for my ancestors...for it is on their strengths that I build and their weaknesses I must overcome!

I pray for my currently earthly bound biological mother for she is the one who has cleaned this space in which I now pray...as she has cleaned it for the festival of Navratri...seva indeed!

I pray to you the Universal Divine Mother-Mata Durga!

I pray for the planet earth! For protection and preservation of its soil, sea and sky! For it is on it I must rely on to survive!

I pray for the Universe to be as it should!

I pray...I pray...I pray...for I simply surrender to you the Divine! May thy way be done!

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti! Hari Om!

Navratri, Lent and Prayers with Paulo Coelho

copyright Meady's Musings Production 2010

As the Hindu festival of Vasant Navratri kicks off we here at UCP are thrilled at the number of genuine UCP:Universal Collective Prayer events that seem to be popping up world over. The 'big man' (no not that one LOL!) himself Paulo Coelho of 'The Alchemist' fame and name is having a universal collective prayer event on Wed 6 April 2011 at 6 PM in your time zone! The famous author is doing it to celebrate his crossing 5million fans on Facebook! WOW! Five million fans on Facebook now that IS something! The Brazilian author might just be more famous than Facebook itself with a following like that and speaking of following...he has >1.5M followers on Twitter! Whoa!

But yep the great one is having a prayer event to celebrate his fans and following...it was actually the number one voted suggestion by fans! Coming in second was the idea 'to work together' but the great one couldn't see that realistically working out so he suggested a colloborative contest of sorts instead. Anyway it's all on the link if you go here to his blog. (Not that he needs the traffic! :) )

So of course we here at UCP will be clinking out mangeeras and going in...after all it's universal collective prayer at it's finest! :) And it's already Vasant Navratri and our Christian UCPers are in the time of Lent. Just last week one of our roving reporters had the most marvelous prayer experience...while working the field she came about a man who actually fasts for Lent almost like a Muslim...seriously! He doesn't eat all day and prayers for lunch instead of eating lunch...well we're not sure if exactly like a muslim as he may have water...but our Catholic find certainly did seem divine in his pursuit of Lenten prayers! :) So lovely! :)

So as we join Paulo Coelho in prayer on Wed we're sure the whole world will be prayered out! Because Paulo's prayer event is happening at 6 PM in each time zone so with his following for sure you will have a good 24 hour spread of prayer globe over and as it is Hindus will be prayering and surrendering to the Divine Mother and Christians are in the fasting and prayering period of Lent! :) So pray on! As we take our mangeeras out again and sing and dance to the Divine Mother to our favourite tune! :)

A Prayer Declares Our Advent Calendar 2010 Open!

The Advent is again upon us
May your Divine light be our guide
As we Christmas plans contrive
The season should be festive
But yet also reflective

So come here to UCP
Share our Christmas treats
Filled with spirituality

We see the light in you
And you see the light in us
As we declare the Advent calendar 2010
Officially open!

Please read our parent blog Meady's Musings here for the details of how our calendar will unfold this year.

To Everything There is a Season!

According to Ecclesiastes 3 of the Bible (King James Version):
"1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"


This no doubt would have been the inspiration that was extrapolated upon by The Byrds in their 1960s hit 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' to come up with this lovely tune!


And here on UCP the time has come...to put an end to the God Series and to take a bit of a rest...have some time for reflection and meditation...perhaps this is like the Hindu or Vedic concept of a breath of Vishnu but not on such a large and grand scale of course! Just on our smaller scale...if we don't breathe in we can't breathe out...so if we don't rest, recuperate, reflect and meditate we cannot think, create and do!

So we are going to be away on UCP for a bit...also the Hindu calendar really is winding down now again...we just have Diwali and Kartik Snaan to go and we have enough content on here from over the years to keep readers entertained from our archives...but we will from time to time come on to add some fresh content if we have some particular Diwali fun for instance! But really readers can check in with our sister blog-Meady's Musings too as we are about to spend November as a Nanowrimo participant!

Of course we will be back 1st of Dec fresh and new...God and Universe willing to open our Advent calender yet again as we ring in the Christmas celebs for the year 2010! Boy time sure does fly in this dance we call UCP:Universal Collective Prayer! So we'll catch you here and there in November but please breathe in as we come back daily from 1st Dec! :)

Eid Mubarak 2010!

UCP celebrates the end of the month of fasting that is Ramadan! And salutes all those who successfully completed this period of fasting. We hope it was a time well spent where spiritual questions were asked and lessons were learnt well while enjoying the time with Allah! This year Ramadan ends at a not so good time on the global landscape for UCP though...I mean all must have heard of the threat by an American pastor to burn the Holy Quran and how he is now playing around with the idea of 'shall I or shall I not' depending on whether a mosque/Islamic cultural centre is built at 'Ground zero'

Now UCP wasn't around in 2001 when the famous '9 11 bombings' took place but you can clearly see why we needed UCP then and still do now! It's a pity when men of the cloth in particular carry on like this...I mean why can't we all just get along and engage in UCP already! But in reality we here at UCP know that there are many who don't see prayer in all and any religion as part of a universal collective prayer and instead like to carry on as if one prayer is the only prayer and perhaps even go as far as to discount the prayer of another! And that's just sad...it's so sad that it makes having to do this blog post be the saddest blog post ever topping out in sadness over the blog post we had to do when there were bombings in Mumbai in 2008.

But UCP is about happiness not sadness and we really hope no Qurans are burnt tomorrow or at any other time...and we do hope that terrorist world over learn instead to engage in this thing we like to call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer! Because you know what? If they did dance forth like us in this thing we call UCP and explore it no matter what religion it was...well they'd not want to blow up things! And so our Eid Mubarak prayer and wishes is for all the world to realise and see that terrorists are simply terrorists...and people who engage in prayer are simply prayer givers and no one...no matter what religion they offer these prayers in...if they do it from their heart and soul in true communion with God however they perceive him or her or it to be would ever want to blow up things in this beautiful plane but would instead want to only create, create, create and dance forth in this thing we call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer! :)

So let's now celebrate Eid 2010 as we crank up the tunes once more! :) But we also put in a snip from the film 'My Name is Khan' in the hope that we here at UCP throw our two cents in the hat for if not 'religious acceptance for all' at least 'religious tolerance' on this Eid day 2010! :)

Update on the God Series and introducing The Truth Contest!

Image title 'Truth on Earth' taken from The Truth Contest

We here at UCP are sorry that we haven't be progressing the God series as quickly as we like but we seem to keep getting detained here, there and everywhere!Haha! Get it...just like God is here, there and everywhere! :) OK corny jokes aside...we really are sorry but our day job and other actual UCP events have us tired out by the time we come to the computer to write...so the blogs are in our head but we can't get the song and dance typed out here! Oh dear!

We are however going to try with all our might and prayer...Inshallah to get those blogs out to you next week though so look for these topics in the God series next week:

Wed: God in the form of fire
Fri: God as the Divine Mother

However we had to come on here to let you know we've linked! A couple months ago while still on vacation in China we were contacted by Lily and Xavier who like us are exploring spirituality but in their own way. While we engage and explore this thing we call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer they have something going on to find and explore the truth and they call it the Truth Contest! What a cool name! :) It's not really a contest though. It is Lily and Xavier's attempt to well hey let me put it in their own words...here is what they wrote to me:

"We are college students who run a website dedicated to seeking, defining, and spreading the truth of life. We have studied your website, and we like what you are saying..."

So hey...let's move forward with our dancing feet in this universe and explore the truth out there as we join in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer! They have linked UCP on their site here.

Welcome Truth Contest and Lily and Xavier...We've put up an official link to the Truth Contest on our side bar but you can link to them from this blog post as well by clicking here. Currently the top five topics that are being discussed on their blog are:

The Present (universal truth)
The Present (with religion)
Truth Is The Way
The God Memorandum
Integrity


Hmmm...so as our God series unfolds we can see us interacting with them for sure! :)

UCP will finally be back soon...

What could be up to a 1,000 Buddhas we think!
Longhua Temple, Shanghai CHINA June 2010.
Copyright Meady's Musings Production 2010.

We come in the company of what could be a 1,000 Buddhas to apologise so you have to give us a chance! We had expected to restart our journey here into this thing we call UCP-Universal Collective Prayer at the end of June...however our production house...Meady's Musings Production seems to be in some difficulty...read their tale here! As a result we hope to be back in full swing over here on UCP by this Wednesday as we plan to share some Buddhist cheer and then launch later on as planned into the quest to find out who is God to you and you and you and I or me! Yes my fellow travellers and dancers into UCP we shall finally be launching our talks on the God concept!Yes indeed we will finally be starting the 'God' series as promised! Inshallah! See you then!

An Apology for Missing the Prayers for So Long!

As published on our sister blog Meady's Musings


We've come in the company of the Purple Elephant and Little Mouse to let you know that we're sorry, sorry and more sorry for not blogging for weeks and weeks...not a single Maniac Mondays or Tumultuous Tuesdays, Funtastic Fridays or even Slumbering Saturdays blog have we posted...and not a single word of prayer was said on our sister blog UCP-Universal Collective Prayer...so now here's the thing...

We've been caught up in the Hustings here on the islands of...Trinidad and Tobago...the place of our birth and citizenship...you see we've been working for something we believe in here...CHANGE! So we've been rallying changemakers across the land to vote for it...so got caught up in volunteering...you see we believe that the party that has evolved the People's Partnership echoes some of the things we talk about on these here blogs...or at least they represent hope for it in the land where the ruling party does not show a window for it and even the manifesto that the ruling party has put forward shows they have no interest in change but in just going full steam ahead as is! So we hope for...

-sustainable development
-unity in diversity

And we here at Meady's Musings Production are always about being the change you want to see! So it was easy for Meady's Musings Production to want to blog for them as they to us represent the change we want to be and see!

We don't know what the outcome will be at the general elections tomorrow on Mon 24 May 2010 but we wish for it to be free, fair and peaceful and of course we hope that change will win! :)However no matter who wins the elections on the islands tomorrow Meady's Musings Production will be willing to work with them as a citizen interested in being the change they wish to see in their homes, their community , the islands, the region, the world and quite frankly the Universe and beyond! :) Purple Elephant and Little Mouse always at our side! :)

However right after the election results we will be heading off on vacation to China via London and so we felt it necessary to drop in and apologise and leave you with a farewell Maniac Mondays post we were preparing before we got drawn into the hustings. We also wish to let you know that we will be back around the end of June and our normal Monday, Thursday and Friday installations will return more frequently then. On UCP we will be starting something called the 'God' series where we will be discussing different perceptions of God in various religions, minds and hearts! Of course we will be sure when back from China to share notes on our adventures there both from the Meady's Musings point of view and UCP as we plan to visit the world fair on in Shanghai and some Buddhist temples while there! And for fans of animal muses like us we more than likely will be dropping in on Winnie the Pooh land while in the UK. So look for it!:)

And look for the Maniac Mondays posting tomorrow on Meady's Musings it's about finding 'That Elusive Happy Place' and see you at the end of June! Until then keep being the change you wish to see!:) And if you want you can always ask our Purple Elephant and the Little Mouse to help you out...you know they are always willing!:)

The Festival of Shiv: Day 12-A Fun Ode to Shiv and Parvati!

Today on the Festival of Shiv we join with our sister blog Meady's Musings and their Funtastic Fridays as they also loving and funningly celebrate Shiv and his courtship with Parvati! :)

Hope you enjoy it...OM NAMAH SHIVAY!



For the details of the blog posting with accompanying explanations and rights as to where the pictures etc. used in the cartoon are attributed to, please read the full blog post on Meady's Musings here.

The Festival of Shiv: Day 3-Render onto Shiva the things that are Shiva's...

One of my fav quotes from the Bible that is attributed to Jesus is:

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (“Ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ”) (Matthew 22:21).

So I thought it would a be a good touch of UCP to draw from that phrase and today on Day 3 of the Festival of Shiv consider rendering onto Shiva the things that are Shiva's!

But exactly what are Shiva's things? :)

Well essentially I guess we all are Shiva's things if we see him as the cosmos itself...we are just a subset of Shiva then...and in the metaphysical or spiritual sense we are all just spirits which when united...well perhaps when united in UCP-Universal Collective Prayer become One...and that One is Shiv...

But perhaps in particular what Jesus meant in that quote about Caesar and his things and Shiva and his things is really that the things of the material plane give those to Caesar let him have it...but the things for Shiva well those were of the spirit...

So tonight on UCP I ask you to join me once again in this Universal Collective Prayer and surrender onto Shiva or God or the Universe or the Cosmos in whatever form or fashion you perceive it...

Do as Jesus said and render onto God the things that are God's!

OM NAMAH SHIVAY!

Here it is...Here it is and Here It Goes!

I've been in the meditation cave with Shiv...and I had some insights...then I had to go through some invites and welcome back ins...then some unforeseen news I was to bear...oh dear! But then was what some call the Indian New Year! (Makar Sankranti as celebrated in UP/Bihar ...the states of my ancestors) And I think it finally brought closure to my thoughts...

So here it is...here it is...before my heart grows heavy and my lights grow dim... and here it goes...my New Year's resolutions of sorts...my plans for these here blogs and the sections of my life through which they trisect (seeing as they are three and all!)

On Meady's Musings

-Mondays: a blog of choice but this year I plan to focus on my experiments in veganism again and I will be going vegan for all of Feb to coincide with another event (I will be covering on UCP). So you can expect to see some of that thrown in with my stepping and meditation retreats to my Shiv cave!

Also I will again attempt to another garden grow and as I see fit I'll let you know how it grows after you've had your Monday Morning cup of Joe to go! :)

-On Thursdays: Expect an offering from either my reincarnation series then or some dabbling into lucid dreams or anything metaphysical of sorts! ;)We'll go slipping through time tunnels, jump into parallel worlds and fall into a flower garden filled with our dreams! I'm so excited! :)

-Friday Fun: Friday will be for fun...I will attempt to pull out a page from my book literally! Yours truly has been writing a book and I will throw out a bit of it from time to time here...but that's not necessarily fun you say? Or come on now my friends it will be :( Please bear with me! :)

However I'll not only pull out the pages for ya...from time to time I'll whip out something special...let it be a surprise for now until it unfolds...hmmm...a lot like Mr. Universe from those tumultuous Thurs metaphysical talks you say...indeed! :)

And expect to get some visits from my Purple Elephant and little mouse often on these days...I tell ya they are rearing to go! :) The bears may also bless us with a visit or two and we will even sometimes check to see what those mischievous monkeys are up to...hopefully they are still on the straight and narrow since our Advent calendar adventures...you think?


On UCP-Universal Collective Prayer

I won't fix the days here but all February long I'll be celebrating Shiv for sure and during that month just like when I did my Advent calendar I will attempt to blog daily on his exploits...when things overlap you might find I will share of Shiv on the other two blogs too! And of course the big Shiv hoo ha of all will fall on Maha Shiv Ratri and UCP will be there to give you the scoop! :)

That's the only thing I've fixed for this blog thus far...other than that I will continue to explore this thing I call Universal Collective Prayer with you and blog as my exploration demands of me to share it with you! And continue to welcome you to come share in Universal Collective Prayer with me!

OM NAMAH SHIVAY!

On Books and Films Corner

I'll try to blog here at least once a week more than likely on a Friday. I will not rehash what is already out there in the mainstream but try to share with you what I find unique to me and what defines me out there in the great big world of books and films! :) STAY TUNED!

Dhyana (Gyan) Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga?

The other night as I asked you all if you had just >40 mins to spare you could sit and listen to the Supreme One lecture...I decided to myself...it wasn't the first time I heard/read the talk...and by the way I went on to the next episode and listened to the whole chat...I've conveniently attached the Youtube vid here for you again of the 2nd part of the chat...



So yep...made me wonder about something I've been wondering about since my early teens...dhyana (gyan) yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga? Which one...which one is the right way...is it that one way is right for you at one point in time...then another one at another time...or is it depending on your nature (prakriti) one way is best for you as oppose to another...or is it the age we in that matters...you know like how the Hare Krishnas and they say it's Kal Yug (the dark age) now and so Bhakti (love)yoga is the only way...? Plus my understanding is that Jesus's way was Bhakti Yoga mostly no? As for sure was Rumi's...

Well dunno...dunno...and sometimes when you hear the Supreme One teasing on you wonder if he is saying at one point in time all are the best like when he talks about each he does have a good way of making you believe that particular one is THE BEST you know! :) But then that is his prakriti (nature)! :)

I in my lesser prakriti still don't know... is why I've been saying this is my journey...this is my song...so I just keep trying to figure it out all the way long...

I think up to now on the prayers I've been singing and dancing in Bhakti Yoga...the path of love...love of God...love of Universe...love of mankind, animals and nature...so like the Hare Krishnas and Rumi of Sufi fame...I've been a Bhakti Yogi or well for gender correctness Yogini or like the Hare Krishnas like to say I would have been practicing perhaps Bhaktivedanta...

But what of these other paths...Dhyana Yoga or Gyan Yoga...the path of Knowledge...or Karma Yoga...the path of Action...it sounds like when I was hearing the Supreme One...well you can't have proper Karma Yoga without Dhyana Yoga cause you have to practice right action...the Supreme One in his talks saying we have to carry out action...but the best action is well...right action is better than bad action but the best action of all is when it becomes non-action...where we just do it for the sake of doing it...not caring about the outcome...so then it's like non-action...guess the equivalent of the New Age ...Going with the Flow theory...or like Deepak Uncle likes to talk about in his Least Effort theories?

But how do you know what it is your duty is? Like how do we know I mean Arjun knew cause the supreme one was telling him and according to the culture of the time and place in which the talk was being given well Arjun was a warrior so his duty was to fight according to the Vedic civilization's laws of war etc. back then...

So I guess for modern man or woman...in our case we need to find our right calling then go into it and practice it cause we must not caring what happens as a result of it...just do it cause we have to...I guess would be our Karma Yoga?

But for sure for us to find that thing we must do our duty we would need to utilize Dhayana Yoga and/or Bhakti Yoga to find it no? And if while doing this thing we must...we fall in love and dance in Universal Collective Prayer that should be cool too right...to practice Bhakti Yoga in combo with Karma Yoga? Hey why not?

So to me thus far I figure that's what the Supreme One is saying...all the Yogas combined is really the coolest if you can wing it! :)

Of course in Universal Collective Prayer anything can happen I mean...maybe while we are looking for our path...through Dhyana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga...the Supreme One will appear or communicate to us like he did with Moses and say...This is your path! :) Go forth now young man or not so young woman! :) Do it I say! :)

Anyway again this is just my thoughts...my journey...my song...I'm not trying to offend or corrupt any religion here nor to create my own...I'm just trying to learn from all...

Also I would love to hear other people's thoughts on their journeys, their songs...so if you want to share them here please do comment on my blog posts...or if you want to guest blog again...drop me a line at this email:
admin @ meadysmusings.com

Hey Come Join Me in Universal Collective Prayer! :)

Krishna Janam ashtami to Krishna Janam ashtami-One Year Into the Prayers!

For sure our time here on the earthly plane does fly! Today is the Hindu festival of Krishna Janam ashtami and last year on this same auspicious festival I launched the prayers! :) It's not exactly 365 calendar days but in terms of Krishna Janam ashtami to Krishna Janam ashtami it is indeed one year! :) Indeed Krishna's birthday has come around again or at least according to staunch Hinduism the time when he appeared through Maya (illusion) to take form in the flesh but didn't really...he just hovered as energy and made all who was not as 'enlightened' enough believe he was of flesh...but aren't we all just energy...and according to him merge into him so there!:)

But even though those who saw him as flesh may not have been as englightened their hearts were filled with love...and on him they showered it in the form of Bhakti Yoga...and he said that was cool too you know! :) So today is really celebrated like that where everyone slips into Maya (enlightened or not) and welcomes a lovely baby boy! :)

And last year on the prayers I spoke about the festival...and celebrated in grand style at my home...but as I said in my welcome back to myself post a few days ago...this year on the prayers I'm not necessarily going to cover festivals especially if I did them previously...so this year I want to dig a bit deeper into the thing...So here it is...

Like all boys and girls he (Krishna)...he came here with a purpose (as we do too)and tonight on the prayers I share one of his grand purposes while here...his long lecture to Arjun...whom he liked to call Parth....this long lecture...also know as the beautiful song divine...The Bhagwat Gita!

I share his discourse in the form I like best...through the body of the actor in the BR Films (TV series)version of the Mahabharat I used to watch growing up...the production is in itself Universal Collective Prayer as Indians of all religions worked together to make it! :)

So it you can find just over 40 mins tonight to be lectured to by the supreme one...enjoy! :)

I am Finally Back to Dance in Universal Collective Prayer!

I meant to be back much sooner than this but unfortunately just days after my vacation I got a flu...don't know if it was swine but it was bad none the less...but I'm recovered fully now...and was able to get my things in order..so now I'm back! It will take a while to build and feel the energy and love as strongly on here again but I hope to soon and to have you...dancing, singing, spinning, loving and surrendering in Universal Collective Prayer again in no time on here! :)

As we build the energy back this might be a good time to pause and not dance and seriously let you know a bit more about my thoughts behind the prayers...

You will see I have finally introduced that new banner at the top and a little logo at the bottom of the page. It was designed by my sister in Universal Collective Prayer- Adriana Ochoa and is meant to reflect what the prayers is all about. My idea is that there is a lot of spiritual talk out there on the planet in recent decades...people love to say they are spiritual and not necessarily religious...but all of us came from some religious origin...even if our parents were atheist we had grandparents perhaps who followed some religion...at least religion is out there and it for sure impacts us...yes for decades religion has been misused in so many ways by its leaders and followers...but why we only hear the bad side? I think it is wonderful all the rich and lovely religious heritages that are out there on the planet...and why can't we all just dance and share in it! :) In fact I feel that dancing energy building already! :) Yes there are different things in certain religions that make them different from others...some things cannot be reconciled...but there are also so many commonalities...and I believe it is possible to in essence dance in Universal Collective Prayer.

Here on the prayers I mostly try to embrace the commonalities...but I am just a human being like others visting the prayers and really this is also simply my humble journey into the prayers...I am merely dancing forth myself...this is my journey...this is my song...and sometimes my feet may stumble on a pebble...my toe can be pricked by a thorn! So I can only engage in Universal Collective Prayer in the best way I know how...I am from a hinducentric origin and so I will always be looking at the prayers from those eyes...but I am honestly trying here to find universality...this is not a blog about pushing any religion over another but it is however limited by the abilities of the human who is writing it...and so it will start from my eyes and spread from there...So far I find it easiest to embrace the other South Asian religions in origin that are very similar to Hinduism i.e. Buddhism and Jainism. However I also see and feel the dance in Sufism and to me the ultimate surrender for sure resides in Christianity especially in how it is expressed in Catholicism.

I continue to wish to learn more on the prayers though and comments and feedback are always welcomed. Also if someone wants to guest blog on a specific aspect of Universal Collective Prayer that they feel they would be good at...please contact me by emailing me at admin(@)meadysmusings.com

One more thing I should explain before I leave you tonight is that the reason the prayers...I wanted it to be collective is apart from the need to have universal prayer i.e. prayer across the religions I believe there should be collective prayer too. I write about this at the top (in the blog's description) to some extent...as in 2008 I took part in an event where candles/deeyas were being lit across the world...in the name of freedom...it was an event for something not against anything...it was not a protest but a prayer...and at the little local event I had...I really felt the power of it...I really felt there was indeed universal collective prayer...and so I wanted to continue that on here...the intention experiment is also a bit like that...and I have taken part in it before...

So I will continue with the prayers from now on as I see it on my journey...this is not necessarily a blog to capture all the religious festivals...and I've done quite a bit of that already since the inception of this blog...so you may start to see where I won't re-do a festival I covered before...doesn't mean I won't do festivals either...what I am saying is I will go wherever the universal dance takes me! :) And of course I want this to be collective so if my readers want me to cover something...let me know and I will try as best to show that dance here! :)

I can never only be all straight face and so I leave you tonight with some of the sights of my vacation. It was parts where I went on a journey into Universal Collective Prayer...taking shots of some of the churches in Santa Fe, New Mexico...especially noted here is how the Native Americans started to join in Universal Prayer as they embraced Christianity (I know some will say by force which can never been seen as good but surely some stayed cause they saw light in there too?) and below you will see the first Native American saint. And at the end of the pics you will see when Universal Collective Prayer gets so cheesy and cheeky...I guess only in America but they charge you too see a Miracle and then tell you can only take pictures for your personal use...it maybe a genuine miracle...I believe in 'em...but you will just see the external in the famous case of the Loretto chapel's staircase! :)As I play by the rules and will keep the staircase pics for my personal use only! In particular though I hope you look on in awe as I did at St. Francis and his doggie...aaawww! :)



The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Asisi

Let Us Know What You'd Like to See on the Prayers...the UCP-Universal Collective Prayer that is! :)

I'm sorry for not sharing more and dancing here more on the prayers in recent times but much has been on in my personal life making it less possible for me to get to that place in which I dance to then be able to share it with you on here...but believe me we will dance again! :)

You can check out my sister blog Meady's Musings for more about what's up with me...

But for staunch UCP followers I want for you to reflect while I'm gone over the next few weeks on what UCP-Universal Collective Prayer means to you...and what you'd like to see here on the dance in the future...

For me UCP is a dance...I dance on here not just write...it is purely what I feel from this place when I'm dancing...soaring in heart and spirit...it is a pure dance of joy for me and I just share it with my friends and followers on here...just so we can all dance and skip and frolic and ...aaaawwww...pray together! :)

When I do it ...I share whatever inspires me regardless of what religion,race,place or century it comes from...I'm off on a vacation but when I'm back of course I'd want to continue to have you join me in Universal Collective Prayer...so in the meantime enjoy this rollicking frolicking dance and write to me here and let me know what you want to see next on the prayers and what you'd like to see on UCP in the coming months and what you'd like to see it grow into...looking forward to hearing from you guys...

I plan to launch my new logo when I'm back too...

And keep joining me in Universal Collective Prayer!

Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord's Supper - Vedanta

As I continue to share in Universal Collective Prayer with my friends of the Christian faith this week especially those of Catholic background I again re-publish a post by my dear Brother in sharing the metaphorical Eucharist that is the Christ-Greg Kirk. I'm excited when I read his post to hear of my other friends being mentioned in it...like another adopted online mother in Mary Lynn, my dear Eze from Mexico, Yogi Rajesh (Sharma), Vashi Ram Chandi...and touched to hear of his interaction with Avi a young Israeli soldier although I haven't interacted with him so far on Intent...and note this junction for him in the dance that is this life with regard to his mother in law...I also think of my dear Sharms who always supports my Universal Collective Prayer and wonder about the other member of the Fab Four and how her trip is going! :)

So here it is this late night and wee hours of the Good Friday morning here in Trinidad...the experience my dear Brother had last night at Holy Thursday mass...

Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord's Supper - Vedanta
I squeeze the CD player volume knob and bring Bryan Adams to a conclusion as I pull into the parish parking lot. Entering the back door to the church sacristy, I can't suppress a smile - I'm early and alone, another adventure in awareness. In the dark sanctuary, I slowly bring up the altar spotlights. The altar is the symbol of the Self. As the lights slowly and softly bring this mystical surface to life, I rest in the awareness that Self-realization is a "process," I remember to be gentle and patient with myself and with others. I gaze at the bare wood of the altar and recall that it should be dressed in cloth tonight. I unfurl dazzling, brocaded white linen and roll it over the wood. The pure white and rich texture of the vestments reminds me of the purity of Self - in my essence, in your essence, purity abounds. The task of life is to remember this. The altar is dressed and my attention moves to vigil candles - a chance to wrest a few quiet moments of prayer. As wicks begin to flicker with light, people are lovingly remembered and light is called down on them - my family, especially my dying mother in law Linda who will be moving in with us shortly. A young couple, Jen and Jesse and their archangel Mary lynn. A young Israeli soldier named Avi, alone in the West Bank who has asked for prayer. I lose my awareness of thought and simply breath for a few moments. Coming back to awareness, I think of Rajesh and smile.

Father John and the servers arrive. The servers are nervous. I assure them that "we" will remember everything and that there is nothing to "sweat." I encourage them to relax and to enjoy themselves. Three fourteen year old boys, filled with innocence sigh with relief. I'm almost reduced to tears, mindful of the others their age who suffered so tragically from clergy abuse. I vow to myself, never again.

The mass has begun. Father John and I process up the stairs and reverence the altar with a kiss. He recites the opening prayer. Speaking the penitential rite falls to me - I skip the one in the book and speak my own, ending with a reference to the One beyond name and form, the One the Svetasvatara Upanishad pointed to: "I know that Great Person of the brightness of the Sun beyond the darkness. Only by knowing him one goes beyond death. There is no other way to go."

Readings from Scripture unfold, ending with the Gospel of John. John, the evangelist I most love, John the Gnostic poet (I think of Sharmishtha and smile) sharing an account of Jesus washing his followers' feet during his last supper with them. The feet washing was a lesson in loving service, in humility, in transcending one's self identity. Twelve chairs are next set up facing the congregation and twelve individuals who I was asked to invite come forward to have their feet washed. This group is representative of the parish - from the eighty four year old man who nearly died from a stroke this past winter to six year old Simon. Father John and I remove our stoles and drop to our knees, with pitchers of water, basins, and towels and begin washing feet. As I finish washing little Simon's feet, I reach up to shake hands with him, to wish him peace and to say thank you. Beyond his smile, curls and innocence, I sense another innocent spirit, the spirit of a shaman candyman ("candybaby") in Mexico named Ezequiel. The washing is finished, the chairs put away. I hand the incensor to Father John and he incenses the altar. He hands the incensor back to me, we bow to one another and I incense him. Next I move to the front of the altar and bow to the congregation and incense them - "Namaste" - "the divine within me acknowledges the divine within you" vibrates through my being like a mantra. Are the very walls tonight crying out "Self-realization?" As incense smoke rises, a symbol of the devotion known as "bhakti," I think of my friend Vashi in Hong Kong and smile. The Eucharist is offered on the altar and then shared with the community - we are to humbly become food for others. I think of my sister in Universal Collective Prayer, Babita, in Trinidad and smile again.

The mass concludes. Father John shrouds the Eucharist within his cope and we process to a place of quiet where the sacrament will be reposed for this evening. The procession represents the arrest of Jesus in the garden, on this night. An innocent man, betrayed, arrested, beaten and taken to trial - a trial without witnesses or a defense - because he dared to love, because he dared to express "Namaste" with his words and actions, to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable, to the marginalized, to the outcasts. He was executed the following day in a horrific, gruesome death, one not deserved - one in which he became one with the One. He realized Self. Nothing will ever be the same. This is my task, it is his teaching and path I follow. I am mindful of the challenge and I recommit myself again this evening - to go beyond dogma, to go beyond the confine of Religion, to grow beyond cultural conditioning, " to let go" (Rajesh again!), to let go of what is comfortable and easy - to strive to accept, support, love, everyone I encounter - especially the vulnerable, the ones our religious and political domination systems would ignore, judge and condemn today. In making this commitment, I feel the presence of a friend named Tamasin. I rest, grateful for her example - her determination to love and support everyone.

I remember words from the Gospel of Eve, a gospel that didn't make it to the canon of Scripture: "I stood on a high mountain and saw a Mighty Man and with him a dwarf and heard as it were a voice of thunder, and drew closer to hear it: and it spoke to me and said: 'I am you and you are me; wherever you are I am there, and I am scattered in all things, from wherever you want to you gather Me, and gathering Me you gather yourself."

The lights are dimmed. My vestments put away. Votive candles will continue to flicker with love for those experiencing challenge. The people have returned home. As I reach for my jacket, a voice behind me, a voice in the dark startles me - "love you dad." Love and light continue to shine beyond the darkness. With our twelve year old son Tony's arm around me, I walk toward the car, toward continuing to realize Self. Tomorrow, death is remembered. The death of one who became one with the One. Realizing Self always involves some death. But Realizing Self means that Resurrection is just around the corner. I know what my intent tomorrow will be - "I intend to love." This was the intent of the Third Jesus. This will be my intent everyday, for all of my days. I turn on the ignition and then the CD player - "Got to get you into my life" sizzles. And I sizzle, growing in oneness with the One, the One of love, the One in all, the One who shines beyond the darkness.


Love, Greg

Universal Collective Prayer: Hanuman Jayanti and Holy Thursday...Bhakti Yoga at Its Best!

In the myriad of Hindu festivals that are out there...today is Hanuman Jayanti...I don't do anything special on the day as such as I often hang out with the Monkey man myself(no offense Hanuman Bhakts I'm one myself in a kinda way and he told me I could call him that if I like). So I need no special reason to worship him...but I guess like with any friend you mark their Bday so Happy Bday Monkey Man! :)

Seriously Hanuman Baba is one of my Ishq Devtaas I find as I wrote about back here. So I metaphorically hug him all the time and then ask him for strength and in general seriously we just hang around and monkey about a lot! :) In my understanding of him growing up Hindu and in the Ramayan stories he for sure has to be a really funny being so I figure if he was a blogger he would use smiley faces a lot :) and LOL (laugh out loud)! plenty! :). What you think? :)

According to the Ramayan he was a really smart monkey...incredibly learned...yet despite that a real Bhakti kinda guy capable of 'The Ultimate Surrender' onto the Lord...also a real humble player too...the kind that even forgets his own powers and needs to be reminded about it...cool guy huh? Now you must know why I often hang out with him if only in the metaphorical sense! :)

Check out this excerpt about the Ramayan tale referring to my long time friend from Wiki:

'Having seen Rama and Lakshmana, Sugriva sends Hanuman to ascertain their identities. Hanuman approaches the two brothers in the guise of a brahmin. His first words to them are such that Rama says to Lakshmana that none could speak the way the brahmin did unless he or she had mastered the Vedas. He notes that there is no defect in the brahmin's countenance, eyes, forehead, brows, or any limb. He points out to Lakshmana that his accent is captivating, adding that even an enemy with sword drawn would be moved. He praises the disguised Hanuman further, saying that sure success awaited the king whose emissaries were as accomplished as he was.[8]

When Rama introduces himself, Hanuman reveals his own identity and falls prostrate before Rama, who embraces him warmly. Thereafter, Hanuman's life becomes interwoven with that of Rama. Hanuman then brings about a friendship and alliance between Rama and Sugriva; Rama helps Sugriva regain his honour and makes him king of Kishkindha. Sugriva and his vanaras, most notably Hanuman, help Rama defeat Ravana and reunite with Sita.

In their search for Sita, a group of Vanaras reaches the southern seashore. Upon encountering the vast ocean, every vanara begins to lament his inability to jump across the water. Hanuman too is saddened at the possible failure of his mission, until the other vanaras and the wise bear Jambavantha begin to extol his virtues. Hanuman then recollects his own powers, enlarges his body, and flies across the ocean. On his way, he encounters a mountain that rises from the sea, proclaims that it owed his father a debt, and asks him to rest a while before proceeding. Not wanting to waste any time, Hanuman thanks the mountain and carries on. He then encounters a sea-monster, Surasa, who challenges him to enter her mouth. When Hanuman outwits her, she admits that her challenge was merely a test of his courage. After killing Simhika, a rakshasa, he reaches Lanka.'

So you see there is a lot to learn from my monkey friend...humility...excellence...wit...strength...bravery...but above all how to complete 'The Ultimate Surrender'...it is that ability that really keeps we coming back for more with him...it is why I still visit just to hug him as he surrenders at the feet of his Lord...such a pure, sweet monkey he is then...interestingly I find too that all beings when they are doing 'The Ultimate Surrender' well they become as one...not just in Universal Collective Prayer but in everything...any being doing 'The Ultimate Surrender' cannot be distinguished from any other being doing it...they all become one...merging into the cosmic fluid I guess...no distinguishing 'em again...just oneness...dissolving into the cosmic dancer that is the Shiv man perhaps...or Bodhisattva...

So on this Holy Thursday as I also continue to share in the Holy Week...I also recall another Bodhisattva in my mind...as I wrote about him just earlier in the week...for sure Jesus Christ of Nazareth completed 'The Ultimate Surrender' too...here is the excerpt from this post earlier this week where I rejoice in his surrender up on the Cross...

'You have to feel pain before you can transcend it and that does not come easily...in my understanding of Jesus he never became detached to it but what he did...you see he was the greatest Bhakti yogi....so after he felt and took the whole pain and sufferring of the entire human race on him...he said to the father...the lord of the Universe ...or the Universe...God...to take it from him...he then made the ultimate surrender...he offerred it all up to the Lord or the Universe...and it is in that moment he became one with it...enlightened...due to his Ultimate Surrender...but it is the process of going into the pain...feeling the pain of others...so much compassion...that made him capable of this ultimate surrender...it showed him the way...the love and the light...so in reflecting on the pain of him and his mother the Holy Virgin Mary...I think we learn from them...and become ourselves closer one day to the Ultimate Surrender...'


So I leave you with my favourite Hanuman Chalisa sung by Hari Om Sharan who to me is the only fitting singer for my friend on his Bday...Hari Om Sharan is no longer on the earthly plane and to me, he for sure was a very elevated being perhaps a few wavelengths off from being Bodhisattva himself...so wherever he is in the now...earth or spirit realm...I bow to his pure devotional voice which he possessed and recorded while here on the earthly plane in the form he had back then as the singer...Hari Om Sharan...

Enjoy! Happy Birthday Monkey Man! And let's continue dancing through the Holy Week!

Commemorating the Holy Week: A Pilgrimage and Messages from the Tea Gang or Is It the Fab Four?!

In the true nature of Universal Collective Prayer as I celebrated the Hindu festival dedicated to the nine nights celebration of the Divine Mother-Nav Ratri I began to contemplate on the Divine Mother as celebrated in Catholicism and I expressed it in this post. It took me on a pilgrimage...it wasn't planned but like outlined in the video about the Virgin Mary in that previous post...I was up on the Mount St. Benedict church on the first Sat of the month. I had gone with the thinking to take part in my first mass ever and perhaps even share in the communion...but I didn't realise that the special masses that were being done every 30 minutes for Lent were not on anymore as it was the Saturday before Palm Sunday and so instead busy preparations were being made for the start of the Holy Week! :)

So I was up there visiting the statue of the Divine Mother inside the church (out of reverence I did not take any photos inside the church and I'm not clear if it is allowed or not officially anyway). So in a way I was worshipping her on the first Saturday of the month of April so I've since decided like in the video to go up to the Mount for the five consecutive first Saturdays...assuming I'm on the island through out that period. I intend to carry out the meditation in my own Hinducentric way however...here is how I feel about the Divine Mother as I expressed when having to comment to a fellow Intent member who is of a Protestant background and from Sweden who I loving refer to as The Fairy Godmother Sara! :)These we my comments to her when she shared her views about the said post I did previous to this one on the Divine Mother.

Fairy Godmother Sara:
Hi, Babita. I watched two of these videos so far. The first one I stopped after a while because it made me smile a bit with all the violence but the second one I really appreciated. Thank you for sharing this beautiful inspiring and fantastically performed artwork. There is so much RICHNESS in hindu art and icons.

The clip with mother Mary was also inspiring. I have never come that close to catholic worship, living in a sekularised protestant country with agnostic parents. Not that I'm complaining. I'm grateful for the freedom it has given me. Now I feel I understand better why some catholics are so intense about defending their faith, which means alot to me. I love understanding, thank you :)

Repairing her heart... beautiful. The Holy Mother, indeed....However the thought strikes me that if they want to repair her heart maybe they shouldn't keep depicting it with swords and arrows in it and keep reminding themselves about her suffering. It seems they repeat the cycle every sunday? Poor spirit of motherhood...

Love to you, Babsy! I hope you are doing well.
Sara

Me:
Hey Sara....Fairy Godmother...Maa Durga she is a strong form of Shakti in Hinduism...pretty independent and yep can appear fierce at times...notice her chariot is usually a tiger or a lion...and they alone can do real damage...she is known to kill many a demon a.k.a. raksha in Hinduism and so yep can come across as violent or fierce...but it is just the eternal battle between good and evil...a turmoil within...it is just the iconography of it my dear Godmother...

About the Mary one ...dunno I don't see it like you...in feeling the pain of her and Jesus...I don't know for me it is deeply spiritual...you have to go deep within and feel it then come back out of it...the reason it is repeated I believe is cause we need to continually go in and feel deeply until we become enlightened...upon enlightenment we can feel the pain but be inwardly disidentified to it...or detached...in Hinduism it is said to be loving but detached...different from just ignoring it or not going into it...which is the mistake many make...

You have to feel pain before you can transcend it and that does not come easily...in my understanding of Jesus he never became detached to it but what he did...you see he was the greatest Bhakti yogi....so after he felt and took the whole pain and sufferring of the entire human race on him...he said to the father...the lord of the Universe ...or the Universe...God...to take it from him...he then made the ultimate surrender...he offerred it all up to the Lord or the Universe...and it is in that moment he became one with it...enlightened...due to his Ultimate Surrender...but it is the process of going into the pain...feeling the pain of others...so much compassion...that made him capable of this ultimate surrender...it showed him the way...the love and the light...so in reflecting on the pain of him and his mother the Holy Virgin Mary...I think we learn from them...and become ourselves closer one day to the Ultimate Surrender...

So...my dear friends in this dance that is Universal Collective Prayer I intend to go about the rest of the Holy Week in this vein and in my five consecutive first Saturday visits to the Mount.

However being up on the Mount and seeing all the preps for the Holy Week...It made me all excited...I wished I could be a part of the celebs but my full time job and my energy levels simply don't permit...perhaps one day Universal Collective Prayer however will be able to get more immersed into the celebs and take footage of the events and bring them to you on here. However for now I instead asked my dear brother in sharing (metaphorically) the Eucharist that is the Christ-Deacon Greg Kirk to share his thoughts on the past Lent season and his thoughts for the Holy Week. I will re-post what he wrote for me here now, along with the thoughts of my other Mexican Brother Ezequiel Rodriguez and to honour him I will publish it in the original Spanish it was written and then the English translation done by my soul sister Adriana Ochoa whose thoughts on how she will spend the Easter holidays with her family will also be shared.

Also you will see some of the beautiful sights up at the Mount one of my favs being those two priests looking at the church...it looks so Merlinish somehow to me...they seem so ancient and wise like Wizards really! :) And I mean that in full respect as I see Wizards in my Universal Collective Prayer as good, wise and showing us the light...if some feel disrespect by that analogy...the prayers apologises as the prayers intent here is really not to be antagonistic to the religious beliefs of others but instead as much as possible to join well in Universal Collective Prayer! Also I believe in taking action after we dance, meditate and reflect in Universal Collective Prayer and you can see I'm proud to be Petrotrin as my company is a major sponsor of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre being built up there at the Mount. The place is truly a thing of beauty, prayer and peace! :)


Brother Greg's Post:
For Babita: Lent, Holy Week and a woman caught in the act of adultery
Babita: I have attempted to answer your request for a blog about my experience of Lent and this coming Holy Week. As you know, the season of Lent is that liturgical season from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday in which Christians are asked to identify and turn away from the darkness of sin. During Holy Week and especially during the Easter Tridiuum, Christians remember the final events Jesus experienced in this life, prior to Easter and Resurrection. If you had asked me to blog about Lent and Holy Week several years ago, my response would have been tremendously different than the one I offer now. For several years, I strove to fulfill the obligations of sacrifice and penance that Lent calls for including days of fasting and reflection on the suffering of Jesus. My celebration is much different now. I can only explain the change with the following story.

Journeying with the Third Jesus has convinced me that mortification and the glorification of suffering and pain are not helpful on the path to transformation. Moving from town to town, watching Jesus reach out to the marginalized – the lonely, the sick, the suffering - touching them with peace and healing has convinced me that suffering will come to us on its own accord. Our task is to bring light and love to those around us. Joy, peace, wholeness, these are the virtues one should embrace and give birth to in this world. What we place our attention on grows stronger.

For me, everything changed with the woman caught in the act of adultery. It is the event that set the stage for the Passion of Jesus, making the cross inevitable. In a way, it propelled the Christian world to the events remembered during Holy Week.

On a bright sunny morning, I followed the Third Jesus out from the Temple to the portico where a group of eager people had assembled and waited for him, obviously hungering for his message. When Jesus sat down, I knew it was to teach. He had just began his familiar discourse on love, beauty and truth when several “religious men” burst across the portico and threw a naked woman at his feet. “Good teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.” “In the law of Moses, such women are to be stoned.” “What do you have to say about her case?” Jesus looked these men in the eye with a sad knowing. He rose and asked me for my prayer shawl. I took it from my shoulders and handed it to him. He lowered himself to his knees and helped the woman to stand, shielding her from the stares of onlookers with his body while he wrapped the shawl around her. He sat her on his seat. Next he lowered himself to the sandy courtyard and began tracing with his finger in the sand. At first I thought he was doodling or drawing. I moved closer and looked over his shoulder. He had written the following words in the sand “Malachi’s sins.” Under this heading, several sins were listed including the words “lust” and “adultery.” I was horrified. Malachi was the leader of these assembled religious men. It was his voice that confronted Jesus with the question about stoning. Malachi then walked over and read the words of Jesus. At first, his hands gripped the rock he was holding so hard that the flesh on it turned white. His face was a contortion of blood red and anger. Jesus slowly rose from the ground, looked Malachi in the eye and said “let the one among you without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” The older men let loose of their stones first Babita, Malachi held his until the end, finally throwing it down hard at the feet of Jesus. As they withdrew, one by one, I overheard Malachi hiss “this means the death of him, the authorities will not accept this total lack of regard for the law.” When they had left, Jesus touched the woman’s arm gently and with obvious love said “sister, where have they gone?” “Has no once accused or condemned you?” She responded “no one sir.” Jesus responded “neither do I condemn you, you are free, reflect on where on you have placed your attention and what you intend for the future.” His kissed her forehead and we walked out of the portico. After a long silence I asked him what it was all about. Jesus shared with me that the entire incident was a “set up.” He shared that in his culture, there had to be two adult witnesses to adultery other than the accused. He sadly informed me that the “religious men” had formed a conspiracy in order to trap and embarrass him, they were willing to kill a human being in order to enshrine their orthodoxy. He then announced that this is the dark side of Religion, the need to worship the law and follow it to the letter. He smiled and said “follow the spirit of the law, follow love to the letter.” “Always remember little brother, it is people the Divine loves.” “There is something about love that can be so very threatening.” “Afraid of its demands, some would rather extinguish the light of its possibility.” “Always remember, love makes all things possible.”

Lent has been a time of recommitting myself to the path of love again – of saying yes to loving God by loving others Babita. Holy Week will be a time to reflect on the teaching of the Third Jesus and moving closer to the cross and resurrection, to the surrender of the self to Self. Holy Week will find me washing the feet of several parish members on Thursday night in order to remember the teaching of Jesus on selfless love and service to others. Good Friday will find me preaching at two services, encouraging people to make peace with the ego as part of the process of surrendering self to to the Divine. For the person who chooses to love, new possibilities and new life always emerge. This will be celebrated on Easter. It is simply a matter of trust. This coming week is about trusting in the Divine and the new light and love this trust always brings. On the matter of that woman who Jesus freed Babita, I think she went on to discover a new type of love, a love that included healthy love for herself, a love that made everything new. Could the following song be her song? It is a song about transformation. It is the possiblity of this transformation that I will celebrate this week.

Love, Greg



Eze's Thoughts:
LA DIVINA TRINIDAD
Anoche, de nuevo, tuve la grandísima fortuna de tener un encuentro cercano del tercer tipo con la D I V I N I D A D!!! En esta ocasión el Gran Maestro Jesús no me habló. TUVE EL MUY ESPECIAL HONOR DE PODER "MORAR" en su inmenso y muy amoroso corazón! Lo que sentí fue increíblemente único y muy bello. Lo que puedo lograr a traducir a nivelhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4920299974971333050 lógico y objetivo fue lo siguiente:

Vamos muy bien. Si le ponemos número y porcentaje solo he podido comunicarles tan solo un trece por ciento de todo lo que el mundo material y espiritual tiene que ofrecernos. Es por eso que requiero de una mayor participación de parte de todos ustedes, ya que nuestro proyecto logrará ayudar a muchísimas personas en toda la faz de la tierra. Sentí que los que hora me acompañan en este sendero, sendero lleno de LUZ, VIDA Y AMOR DIVINOS para muchos de ellos este será solo un camino temporal. De todas maneras sean bienvenidos, mientras tanto a transitar por este particular sendero. Habrá otros que me acompañarán SIEMPRE! Ya que anteriormente ya hemos estado juntos y hemos trabajado juntos para la Gloria d Dios, nuestro Creador y Señor. A ustedes les digo BIENVENIDOS sean hermanos y hermanas en este glorioso sendero. Lo anterior "solo" fue un pequeño mensaje de Cristo-Jesús. Nuestro hermano mayor y salvador. Aún hay mucho más que compartir, espero hacerlo tan pronto reciba mi nueva computadora. Muchísimas Gracias. Reciban un fuerte abrazo de uno de los muchos mensajeros del Amor del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. AMORIFER-ALDEN

Divine Trinity
Last night I had the privilege of having a; close encounter of the third kind with divinity. In this occasion Jesus did not speak. I had the special honor to bask in his immense and loving heart! What I felt was incredibly unique and beautiful. What I can translate in a logical and objective way is as follows:

We are going through the right path. If I can put numbers and percentages I have only communicated 13% of what the spiritual and material realm have to offer. That is why I require a more eager participation of you, because our Project can help more people on Earth. I feel that the ones that are walking with me in this path, a path filled of LIGHT, LIFE and DIVINE LOVE they will go by my side for a time. Any way be more than welcome, to walk this specific path.

There will be others that will be with me forever. Because we have been together before working for the Glory of God our Creator . I welcome you dears Sisters and Brothers in this glorious path.

This was a small message of Christ-Jesus our elder brother and savior. There is much more to share, I will as soon as I get my new computer. Thank you very much.

Receive a big embrace of one of the many messengers of love from the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.



Adriana's Plans:

Dear ones:
Now I am catching Pedro over there. He is very excited, because last time we could not make it and stayed in Hemosa Beach, which by the way was fabulous.
We are spending the Holy Week over there. Since I was little I enjoyed this week so much, because I always knew that at the end Jesus's rebirth was the culmination. Infinity is real, love is real.

I loved to watch Jesus Christ Super Star, and the Zeffirelli's movies although I cried and cried with pain.
I want to make it special for Pedro, and get a retreat of love with God consciousness. A week of loving lent.

George and Rodrigo are going to a retreat near Mexico city which is beautiful, silence reclaims its own place.

I wish you all to have the most aware Holy Week ever.

With all my love
Adriana
Also on Intent- Me, Adriana, Greg and Ezequiel are seen as the Tea Gang and at one point we were being called the Rat Pack...but then I always listen to the Beatles and so does my Eucharist sharing friend Bro Greg so one thing lead to another and well...check out this lovely thing Adri created! :)