How feels the boddhisattva,

When s/he finally moves into the light
What does s/he feel when s/he passes through the portal
That s/he held open for many a night
Not opening nor closing,
Just holding it open


For the traveler ready to transit
The one who just needs to know light exists
For the one who senses it from within the deepest darkness
And most of all for the other boddhisattva
Who is now ready to move

 

©2007 Meenakshi Suri

[Originally HOW FEELS THE BODDHISATTVA

When I was driving back from work on Thursday, I heard on the radio that Michael Jackson was in a coma. I could feel healing light flowing towards him. On another channel, I heard one of his songs, followed by another and another.

I rediscovered Michael Jackson on the day that he died. His music, that I had so enjoyed in childhood, laid dormant in my life as I switched first to songs for babies and then children as they grew. By the time they had grown, I had begun to hear other music.

When I reached home, my son came out of the house and said, with an undefinable look in his eyes :"Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett have died."

Sad. Deep sadness.

For one day, several thoughts and feelings raced as I heard his songs and saw many of his song videos for the first time, playing on BET. The irony did not escape me, that his videos came to my life as he departed his.

I felt I needed to write something, but there were too many mixed thoughts whirling around to get a clear idea of what words could emerge. I've learned through healing, not to get swept away by the feelings passing through as many are picked up empathically from those around us. The more we expand, the more the thoughts that we pick up, and if we can stay away from ego separateness, we know that not all thoughts are "my thoughts". But this is an alive process, as I kept getting swayed and coming back to center.

As usual, clarity came as I drove, this time to my exercise class. You have to write about Michael as you experienced him. Not as you heard about him, but as you yourself experienced him.

So, getting grounded, I thought:
"What was Michael to me? How did I experience one who was alive but I saw and heard only on waves of air? Who I heard of, from those who've personally met him and whose assessment I trust? About whom I heard much that upset me, but which was not something I knew of personally? When there's this and that, isn't it best for me to stay in the center, sending light to accusing and accused but not playing into a drama that I can do nothing about?"

And it dawned on me:
For me, Michael is as alive now, as he was when he walked on earth.
For me, Michael is more accessible now as I am more aware of him than when he was alive. I don't think I would have actually seen him as I am doing now: laughing, singing, playing to the audience, doing strange things, showing his vulnerability and pain, being spontaneous and then realizing when he's going too far, singing, leaping, dancing, swirling, moving in unimaginable ways.

And I am really sad that he has passed away, because it seemed that he was sad, he was on the verge of a concert tour in which I could perhaps have seen him, that he was trying to provide for his children and doubtless many others who depended on him, and it was not possible.

Perhaps his life was an unfinished symphony and he is Gone Too Soon [video]
Or perhaps he gave all his messages, this Michael whom we're remembering in The Power of Light group and doubtless many venues around the world,  we can rise with him and see the symphony that he so passionately brought to us, and marshall the energy of our tears, deep feelings, confusion, mixed emotions, and inner knowing into a symphony of hope, to heal the world in which we are still living.

Perhaps he died so we could see him as the truth of what he was. If we can see it, he lives as he always did, but no longer hiding the light under a bushel.

I look around me, and see the pillars of light that surround me, as I had seen in the equinox ceremony in March.

And as the tears flowed today, I dedicated them to healing the world as Michael and others sought to do:

That my husband works from home and I go out only twice a week, the kids are on varying levels of summer break, so we are all together much of the time. We can work and live together as a family.

It's a more balanced life then the frenetic pace of husband traveling and working long hours all over the world and me holding the home fort.

Such a change from our early years together!

And as I wrote on Ted's blog right now -"what you said, Ted, with that sense of playfulness.
And what your readers said..hi friends! That's what I like about my life right now.
This."

Friends online who sometimes spill over into etheric meditations and at other times, into face to face meetings.

In the Gaia Lounge,one of our lovely  Gaia Team members, Jessica, has started a discussion in which she asks:

On the occasion of Father's Day, my heart is a little heavy, as my father is not in good health. He is being seen my doctors, my sister will be with him soon, a brother in law is there, along with caring nephews, but...

Since we're three daughters,my father has taken pride in us and given us all opportunity to study and work as usually fathers of his time would do for their sons. Instead of limiting us to school education, he has opened up a world of spiritual and earth studies for us.

Indra kratum na aa bhara pitaa putrebhyo yathaa

O Indra, give us wisdom as a father gives wisdom to his sons. -RV.VII.32.26

 

June 21st, summer solstice and Fathers' Day, has dawned in India. In a little while, I'll call my father.

As I was meditating today, in virtual and etheric space with a group of amazing ones, I felt guided to share images of rain in forests, and started a thread in The Power of Light group. Just then, one of the participants mentioned this concert. So, it all came together for me and here's a blog on this. I'm not going physically, but will tune in through the remarkable web.
How about you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concert for the Living Water



Join the world in this history making "EXPERIMENT". . . . The new concept in harmony . . . Connecting all through the water that sustains the planet and makes up most of your body. . . .
New research proves different types of water hold unique capabilities that can free humanity from every urgency. Learn more about water and the new way to hear music . . . in 528Hz.

The EXPERIMENT will gather millions of people on Summer Solstice weekend, June19- 21. Participants at nearly 40 venues worldwide adjacent important bodies of Water are poised to make this first LIVE H2O Internet broadcast a historic success. Best of all, it’s all done by volunteers, and no large commercial sponsors.

People everywhere will unite musically to celebrate the healing harmony in Water and LOVE. This unprecedented interactive Internet broadcast over LIVEH2O.tv will engage an estimated 10 million or more viewers in this first ever experiment in awareness and understanding. Music played at 528 Hz, with heart-felt loving intention for peace, health, and more, will resonate the oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams, including your blood stream, for the LOVE of it!

Co-creating Peace, Health & Abundance

Everything is possible with LOVE, faith, and people united in prayer! This 72-hour global event is designed to bring humanity back to unity and security in the name of LOVE, by celebrating Water.

There are three ways for you to participate: 1) Go to the nearest venue; 2) Create your own gathering with friends interacting using LIVEH2O.tv and this "FREE PASS" to the LIVEH2O.tv "Control Room" that links you to streaming video broadcasts from around the world; and 3) Produce your own experience by "surfing" the streaming video, singing, praying, and chanting with multitudes of warm hearts connected online.

That's right! Even if you are home alone, everyone is invited to celebrate LIVE H2O, especially during the global prayer on Sunday, June 21st, at 6PM Pacific Standard Time. So mark your calendar now, and tell everyone you know to do the same. Let‘s co-create a "Global Baptism" during the greatest spiritual concert in history--all for the LOVE of Water!

DRUM, PRAY and CHANT with the World, . . .

See the website for the musicians who're gathering

1) Do you wish on shooting stars?

I haven't seen one for ages, but when I did, I'd be so wonderstruck, that no words would emerge! But perhaps a silent wish went out from the child heart!

2) Would you like to travel to outer space?

I wanted to be an astronomer so that I could.  But it was like a dream and not an intention. An armchair astronomer! I read all the sci-fi that I could lay my hands on, and virtually visited space. Then, I began to meditate.
And space travel took on a new meaning.
So- that's a yes.


3) Do you like astrology?

Ummm--like? Perhaps not really. I feel the stars speak to us, but I'm not sure if that always comes through clearly through the words of others.


4) If you could name a new planet, what would you call it?

Estara
That's what came through without a moment's hesitation.


5) Do you enjoy star-gazing?

'Enjoy' is putting it mildly! Looking at them hungrily isn't quite so attractive, but sometimes that's how it seems! Each night, I've to orient myself with my 'favorite' constellations [yes, Orion, Sapt-rishi and the Pleiades cluster when we can see them!]  and stars. Whenever I travel, I look for Orion, and when I see it, I know I'm home.
http://is.gd/ZHxr Orion Constellation Sapt Rishi / Great Bear constellation http://is.gd/ZHAr Pleiades Cluster http://is.gd/ZHF3

[Questions from the Team Blog]

 

While looking for a quote on a flock of birds today, I came across articles on how Craig Reynolds studied the flocking behavior to design  computer models that have been used in movies such as Batman Returns, and who knows what else! [I hope some of my friends will point me to other applications]

And I thought only Bugs Bunny called birds - 'boids'!

As I read Craig's article, it seems to me that boids can easily be used to describe online communities. Well, not easy for me, but perhaps for the scientists attracted to Dale Husband's Universal Science Forum  ?  I'm heading there now.


Excerpts
The basic flocking model consists of three simple steering behaviors which describe how an individual boid maneuvers based on the positions and velocities its nearby flockmates:

		Separation: steer to avoid crowding local flockmates
		Alignment: steer towards the average heading of local flockmates
		Cohesion: steer to move toward the average position of local flockmates

:
"Each boid has direct access to the whole scene's geometric description, but flocking requires that it reacts only to flockmates within a certain small neighborhood around itself....Flockmates outside this local neighborhood are ignored.

The boids model is an example of an individual-based model, a class of simulation used to capture the global behavior of a large number of interacting autonomous agents. Individual-based models are being used in biology, ecology, economics and other fields of study.

Note that the straightforward implementation of the boids algorithm has an asymptotic complexity of O(n²). Each boid needs to consider each other boid, if only to determine if it is not a nearby flockmate. However it is possible to reduce this cost down to nearly O(n) by the use of a suitable spatial data structure which allows the boids to be kept sorted by their location. Finding the nearby flockmates of a given boid then requires examining only the portion of the flock which is within the general vicinity. "

Video based on his work:

Like Maslow's heirarchy, another model useful in understanding ourselves, and becoming aware is the Johari window.

As we encounter another person, a window opens: into the other person and also into ourselves. This happens whether the encounter is face-to-face, or through other media. Whether or not we are conscious of it, through each interaction, we learn something about ourselves and the other.

	KNOWN TO ME	NOT KNOWN TO ME
KNOWN TO YOU	1.OPEN:easily seen, known, factual, 'in the light'   What you know about me, and I know about myself	2.BLIND /shadow   What you know about me, but I don’t know about myself
NOT KNOWN TO YOU	3.HIDDEN: suppressed, un-expressed   What you don’t know about me but I know about myself	4.UNKNOWN: unconscious, potential, 'in the dark'   What neither you nor I know about me

Many years ago, two psychologists JOseph Luft and HARry Ingham described this metaphorical window.  The JOHARI Window, as it is called after its founders, is a model that helps us to put a framework on our understanding of ourselves better, in relation to people that we meet and who know us. Though it is commonly used for interactions between people, we can choose to extend it as deep as we would like to.

 

The interesting aspect is, that as one quadrant grows, the others become smaller. In this, it is a closed system.

 

1. The “open” quadrant represents things that are known to both – people who know me, and I know - my name, and other facts about me. If we get to know each other better, the window shade will move, making this first quadrant bigger. As it becomes bigger, quadrant 2 or 3 may become smaller.

2. The “blind” quadrant represents things that you know about me, but that I am unaware of. For example those around me can see my body language when we’re face to face, and I do not. Whether or not you have met me, based on my behavior, and my writing, you have made inferences about me.

Why is it important for this quadrant to be smaller? Because this is the part of me that influences other people’s behavior towards me, but I am unaware of it.

3. The “hidden” quadrant represents things that I know about me that you do not know: ones that I may be unable or unwilling to share. This is typically the area of motives,private thoughts, stream of consciousness, communication skills.

What did I do today? What do I plan to do? What am I reading? What do I think about you? What is my opinion about the world today? As soon as I tell you any of this, I move the information in my hidden quadrant and enlarge the open quadrant. We decide what to share and keep hidden about ourselves from others. Sometimes, some things that we hide may actually harm us or others [e.g. a child hiding an abusive person from his parents as we are now reading so much about in the news]; but at other times, we are probably wise in not boring the other with details about ourselves!

How can I know what to hide and what to disclose to another?

4. The “unknown” quadrant represents things that neither I know about myself, nor you know about me. Our dreams, repressed memories, forgotten events, fall into this category. Why is it important? Because it comes up in surprising ways- dreams, inexplicable emotions, gut-feels, intuition, visions. Opening up this quadrant is a matter for each of us to decide for ourselves. But it is something to keep in mind: that we don’t know everything about ourselves.

How do I view the parts of me that are unknown? A Pandora’s Box of memories and painful incidents that I am scared to open? Something unimportant best left unknown? Or a mystery worth unveiling?

Some events in our lives cause parts of the unknown to become known: it could be a major event like marriage or becoming a parent or a death of a close person; or an unusual one like talking in public for the first time, being forced to do something we’ve never wanted to try before; it could be meditation, or sometimes feedback from a wise one. We discover hidden strengths, surprising weaknesses, and unimagined qualities in ourselves. And if were really lucky, we begin to discover the dimensions within ourselves and our connections with each other.

This intriguing quadrant is like a black hole in the universe- who knows what it contains and where it leads!

Each person we meet, is different from the other. In our dealing with each person, we uncover things we didn’t know about them and what we didn’t know about ourselves: there may be a tenderness we discover only if we have a child; or a nasty temper that is uncovered only when we meet someone who lives with rules completely different from ours.

No one is static- so we not only uncover, we also change as we meet people.

Something to think about, is the role that emotions play in each of these quadrants. That defines our feeling about light and dark.

©2002 Meenakshi Suri. All rights reserved

[Cross-posted ]

 

We have just had general elections in India for the Lok Sabha [general assembly]. A slightly personal touch for me, is that Shashi Tharoor, one of those who won, was at the University of Delhi when I attended it too; and many a time we'd go to university debates to hear him and other contemporaries! [that's the extent of my name dropping for this one!]


Children wait for their parents to vote;


The wonder that is India's election-With a continent-sized 714 million voters,India has learned to pull off virtually flawlessly the biggest, eye-poppingdemocratic exercise with the kind of ease that is a part of our new brandequity. …”How do you preventelectoral fraud?” “How do you ensure that the voting machines are not hijacked?”These are questions to which Indian electoral juggernaut has now answers to.But, for the outside world, how a poor country puts up such a complicated andmammoth show of democracy remains a wonder.



Congress Coalition Set to Return to Power The India National Congress party and its allies sailed tovictory Saturday, securing a strong mandate for the designated primeminister, Manmohan Singh.

Viewpoint in the Wall Street Journal about the issues a new government should address: India Journal: Let's Get Going

Two winners who may make a difference:

Indian Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, greets supporters at anelection rally in Baliguda, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Forhundreds of thousands of people in this largely rural swathe of northIndia, Rahul Gandhi is their prince. The boyish looking 38-year-old isthe latest political incarnation of the fabled Nehru-Gandhi dynastythat stretches back over 60 years


Shashi Tharoor creates history -Shashi Tharoor has created history by winning the Lok Sabha seat from the Kerala [Images]capital, Thiruvanathapuram, by an unprecedented margin. Never beforehas any one not born in Kerala or not educated here or not proficientin Malayalam registered an electoral victory in the state. 
[Yes, he's the same person who was being considered for UN Secretary General ]


Indian voters




[cross-posted from World Heritage Society]